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CHICAGO — The Institute of Food Technologists convened its annual event and expo, IFT FIRST, at McCormick Place from July 12 to 15, drawing more than 15,500 food professionals from over 80 countries and more than 1,000 exhibiting companies. IFT FIRST stands for Food Improved by Research, Science, and Technology; the organization has served as the voice of the global food science community since 1939.

This year’s edition introduced a significant format change. All scientific programming — over 100 educational sessions and more than 450 research posters — moved directly onto the Expo Hall floor. IFT CEO Christie Tarantino-Dean has said the redesign was intended to help attendees connect what they learn in sessions with the innovations they encounter among exhibitors, and that the expanded networking spaces and curated floor tours reflected direct attendee feedback.

The programming reflected an industry preoccupied with credibility. Two keynotes were devoted to it: Building Trust: Scientific Consensus and Policy for a Safer Food Future, moderated by IFT Chief Science and Technology Officer Brendan Niemira, and Science Communication in the Age of Misinformation, moderated by Food Technology Editor-in-Chief Bill McDowell. IFT’s 2026 Compensation and Career Path Report, drawn from more than 5,000 responses and published weeks before the show, found that the impact of scientific misinformation now ranks as the top professional concern in the field.

An ingredient partnership on the floor
Among the exhibitors, NURA — the U.S. ingredient supplier operating under the tagline “Better Ingredients, True Partner” — built its booth around two propositions that arrived from opposite directions.
The first was OkiOne?, an all-in-one superfood derived from Euglena gracilis, the microalga commercialized by Tokyo-listed Euglena Co. (TSE: 2931). Euglena occupies an unusual position in biology: it is neither plant nor animal, and it lacks the rigid cell wall that limits the bioavailability of most plant-derived ingredients. That cell-wall-barrier-free structure gives OkiOne? approximately 93% digestibility, alongside 59 nutrients and 30–50% paramylon, a β-1,3-glucan unique to the organism.
NURA presents three clinically studied benefit areas for the ingredient: restful sleep, mood and emotional resilience, and immune defenses. OkiOne? carries iGen Non-GMO Tested, GRAS, Kosher, and ASC Farmed Responsibly certifications — the last of these an aquaculture standard that speaks to how the organism is cultivated at scale.
The second proposition was CLEARTEIN?, NURA’s clear protein peptide platform. Where conventional protein powders deliver an opaque, creamy, filling beverage suited to shakes and baking, CLEARTEIN? is engineered for the opposite format: light, transparent liquids — functional waters, ready-to-drink beverages, stick packs, gummies. The line spans pea, rice, soy, whey, yeast, and customizable blends, each at 90% protein content with strong PDCAAS and rapid absorption.
The manufacturing route explains the positioning. Protein is enzymatically hydrolyzed with food-grade enzymes into smaller, more soluble peptides; a filtration sequence strips color, odor, and impurities while purifying and sterilizing the peptide solution; an optional pH adjustment step yields acidified peptides for formulation flexibility; the purified liquid is then spray-dried into a powder that stays clear in solution. NURA showcased the result in a featured prototype — a CLEARTEIN? Fizzy RTD in mixed berry, combining clear pea peptides with a stevia-and-brazzein sweetener blend and spirulina powder, delivering 15 g of complete protein with no allergens and natural color and flavor.

The demonstration
The booth’s most effective argument was liquid. A Superfood Matcha Latte, formulated with OkiOne?, an organic prebiotic fiber blend, and a heat-treated Lactobacillus plantarum postbiotic, delivered 5 g of dietary fiber and 30 billion postbiotic cells per vegan serving. Attendees drank it before they read the label.
On July 14, NURA USA and Euglena Co. co-hosted an invitation-only breakfast session, The Science Behind Euglena, in Room S101B. Melissa Riddell, NURA’s Director of R&D, and Dr. Kengo Suzuki, founder of Euglena Co., addressed R&D scientists, product developers, and formulators on the clinical research behind the ingredient, the mechanisms underlying immunity, mood, and sleep support, and how brands are incorporating OkiOne? into finished products.

A Japanese ingredient in an American argument
The convergence at NURA’s booth is instructive. Both ingredients solve the same category problem from different ends. CLEARTEIN? removes what formulators do not want — color, opacity, allergens, mouth-coating heaviness. OkiOne? adds what they do want — nutrient density and clinically studied function — without the cell wall that usually taxes it.
Behind both sits the constraint that defined the show: in a market where the food science profession itself names misinformation as its top concern, and where consumers increasingly reward ingredient lists they can read, an ingredient earns its place on a label by being explicable. A microalga that has been eaten in Japan for two decades, grown under an aquaculture sustainability certification, and studied in human trials is, in that specific sense, a well-timed ingredient.

*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.