Ingredients in Focus is Food Dive’s bite-size column highlighting interesting developments in the ingredients sector.
The citrus ingredients market has experienced a growth surge in recent years as demand for natural and plant-based ingredients in food and beverage products has increased. But after Hurricane Milton earlier this month, strong winds and flooding have generated up to $2.5 billion in damages to Florida’s farms, with the state’s agriculture department reporting “significant production losses” among orange crops.
The Category 3 hurricane hit the majority of Florida’s citrus producing counties. Not only did the storm affect orange crops, but also trickled down to citrus ingredients as well, according to Frank Jaksch, CEO of Ayana Bio, a plant cell cultivation company.
“Citrus has already been a problem. There are problems with citrus crops and those citrus products are used not only for the production of oranges or orange juice or other types of food products, but the citrus related flavors are one of the most commonly used ingredients,” he said in an interview with Food Dive.
Citrus fibers in particular are seeing a boom in popularity.