Chicago-based Mintel reports that the descriptor “spicy,” as it relates to “hot,” climbed 8 percent between the third quarters of 2015 and 2016. Now that condiments such as sriracha has become mainstream, culinary professionals are looking for new ways to turn up the heat in meat and poultry products. They are looking for global and regional recipes to layer in familiar flavors with bold spice, chiles, and herbs.

Sunsweet is rolling out chef-inspired, no-added-sugar industrial sauces that have application in heat-and-eat meat and poultry products, as well as jerky and other protein snacks. Dried plums serve as a key ingredient in these gluten-free sauces that are made with non-GMO ingredients and no artificial ingredients or preservatives.

“The dried plums enhance flavor and sweetness, enabling the sauces to be produced without the addition of sugar and less sodium,” says Kim Kennedy, business development. Read the story from Meat+Poultry magazine.