Q and A for Short Term #3--Mustard

What are the ingredients? --Sweet/hot; Cider vinegar; Water; Wheat flour; Mustard; Sugar; Soy bean oil; salt; Gums—locust bean, xanthan, guar or alginate--Horseradish; Soy bean oil; Water; HFCS; Vinegar; Egg yolks; Modified food starch; Salt; Sugar--Horseradish powder, Dextrose, Natural and artificial flavors, Disodium EDTA; Carmel color ; Extract of paprika

Are there any heat treatments? -- No

What is the pH of the product? --Sweet/hot—3.5-4.5; Horseradish—3-4

How do you process mustard seeds? -Stone ground

Have you tied flavor encapsulation? -- Have not tried it, don’t know if willing

How do you blanch your horseradish? --Don’t—horseradish powder

What type of packaging is used? --3types—10.5 once, 1.25 once, and glass with plastic lids and metal seal

What are processing steps? -- add oil, water and vinegar then add dry ingredient, mix until smooth mixture then pack

room temperature storage after opening? -- Room temp is how they store it now

Do you vacuum pack? -- No

What causes excess heat in first two weeks? --Mustard flour

How much water is added? -- About 7-8%

What is the target shelf life? -- depends on company—plastic container—12 month

What variety of mustard is used—white or brown? --Don’t know

Is anything smelled coming out of containers? -- No

Is intensity of loss of heat the same for both products? --Don’t know

Has the heat always been a problem? --Yes

Is there any difference in packaging with heat loss? -- No

Does the horseradish powder in horseradish add any heat in the form it is in? --Most of heat comes from mustard flour

What is the primary application of sauces? -- Hot dogs—normal condiment uses

How is horseradish handled during storage? -- Shipped on unrefrigerated trucks then stored at ambient temperature

How rapid is turnover of product? -- Not very fast—highly variable

Any loss of texture or flavor? -- None

Do you observe loss of sweetness when loss of heat is observed? -- No

Would you be willing to use mustard seed and grind them in site? -- Don’t think manufacturers have capability

How was product applied for sensory evaluation? -- On crackers

Is loss of heat observed in competitor’s product? -- Yes—but don’t know the rates

Does loss of heat happen with everything? -- Yes

What is the Aw of each? -- Around .87-.89; Acidity—less than 2%

How much oil is in product? -- Will send in.; 10%

Have you had micro problems? -- No

Is wheat flour used as bulking agent? -- Yes

Is heat considered #1? -- Just a combination of everything but very important

Have you tried refrigerated samples? -- Still losing heat

Is there a change in Aw and pH after 6 months? -- No

Does the color change over time? -- Horseradish a little bit—creamy white; Sweet/hot does not change

How long does it take to come up to optimal heat level? -- 2 weeks

How long have you had a problem with this product? -- always been noticed—volumes are now high enough to address problem—also different shelf-lives

Do you know how to make mustard powder? -- Powder is just stone ground—consistent between three manufacturers

Is same amount of mustard powder used in each product? -- No—sweet/hot uses more

How long is horseradish and mustard kept before use? -- 2-3 weeks maximum

How is mustard packaged? -- plastic lined bag

Does the powder lose heat capacity? -- Have not tried that; Industry standard to lose heat—just a matter of how much