Keeping up with current and future demand in grain-free pet food, IQI is continuously exploring new and sustainable sources of grain-free starch for pets. This is how we recently added green banana from the Philippines to our ingredient portfolio. These 100% fresh yet unripe fruits are an upcycled side stream from harvests for human consumption. Instead of being discarded as waste, the green bananas are washed, sliced, pulverized and sieved – resulting in beige to light brown ‘whole green banana powder’ which is packed as an ingredient for further processing.
IQI's green banana powder is naturally rich in starch (>60%), has a neutral taste, and a low sugar content. The main benefit of the ingredient – and what sets green bananas apart from their yellow family members – is that it contains so-called resistant starch. Unlike other types of carbohydrates, resistant starch is not (rapidly) digested in the small intestine but instead passed into the large bowel. There, it is fermented by bacteria into short chain fatty acids which absorb excess fluid. The end result is that the dog’s stools get firmer, and the duration of diarrhea is reduced.