USA – US privately-held, family owned global nutritional ingredient company, Kemin Industries has developed a plant-based NaturFORT RSGT, a consumer friendly shelf life extension solution, alternative to Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA).
Kemin’s development comes at a good time when food manufacturers and consumers are shying away from use of chemical-sounding ingredients.
“Many manufacturers have been seeking consumer-friendly alternatives for shelf life extension since EDTA was removed from products,” said Chandra Ankolekar, Ph.D., technical service manager, Kemin Food Technologies.
“When replacing EDTA, manufacturers had to sacrifice shelf life or make significant adjustments to their supply chain to store and distribute these products in refrigeration.”
The product, made using a blend of rosemary, spearmint, and green tea extracts can be used for ambient products such as salad dressings and sauces.
EDTA used in some products as a preservative, color enhancer, and stabilizer, is an FDA-approved food additive in foods such as dried and canned beans, sauces, salad dressings, mayonnaise, and other sandwich spreads.
It’s a crucial ingredient in some of the products made by big brands including Kraft Heinz and Hellman’s Simple.
The company said the plant extract blend in NaturFORT RSGT delivers similar functional benefits as EDTA such as its oil and water solubility properties, heat stability, as well as its color retention and flavor enhancement characteristics.
NaturFORT RSGT also delays lipid oxidation through the effect of antioxidants such as rosemary and green tea extracts, a property that deteriorates product color, texture and taste especially in oil-based shelf-stable products, according to Kemin.
“While rosemary targets the oil phase when added to an emulsion, spearmint and green tea remain in the aqueous phase.
A part of the actives works at the interphase, which is known to be the hot spot for oxidation, slowing down lipid oxidation and extending shelf life,” added Ankolekar.
“Our testing has shown great shelf-life extension results in salad dressing and sauces using this new blend of rosemary, spearmint, and green tea extracts.
It offers improved efficacy over the current plant-based solutions.”
