Certain acronyms increasingly are being removed from ingredient lists of baked foods, in great part because they appear on other lists, those of retail outlets and food service operators wanting to remove chemical-sounding ingredients to offer “clean label” products.

 

Manufacturers have several options, many featuring enzyme systems, to remove such ingredients as ADA, SSL and DATEM from baked food products. Removing such unwanted acronyms may allow the manufacturers to meet the ingredient requirements of such companies as Panera Bread Co., St. Louis, and Whole Foods Market, Austin, Texas, along with the Simple Truth and Simple Truth Organic lines from The Kroger Co., Cincinnati.

 

“All you really need to do is walk down the bread, cookie, cracker, tortilla, cake, etc. aisle in the local supermarket, and you will see every item is driving toward a cleaner label,” said Matt Feder, vice-president of sales and marketing for Cain Food Industries, Inc., Dallas.

 

He said Cain regularly hears from its food company customers regarding a number of items, including azodicarbonamide (ADA) — “definitely a no-no,” Mr. Feder said — as well as SSL (sodium stearoyl lactylate), DATEM (diacetyl tartaric acid esters of monoglycerides), CSL (calcium stearoyl lactylate), monoglycerides, diglycerides, L-cysteine and sodium metabisulfite.

 

Cain Food Industries has commercialized systems to remove all those ingredients. For example, Cain’s Tru CL removes all combinations of ADA, DATEM, SSL and CSL in a formula. CLDC will remove SSL and DATEM. The Cain products may appear as enzymes on ingredient lists, Mr. Feder said.

 

AB Mauri North America, St. Louis, offers Qualitase strong dough as a way to replace SSL and DATEM, said Marie Thomas, vice-president of innovation — bakery ingredients for AB Mauri North America. Qualitase CLM, an enzyme system, has been shown to reduce and even replace monoglycerides in bread, buns and rolls. Qualitase CLM, which features an ingredient list of wheat flour and enzymes, has been shown to improve the texture of finished baked foods.

 

“The increased avoidance (of certain ingredients) is commonplace throughout the entire food industry, not just only in baked goods,” Ms. Thomas said. “The public’s desire to have a better understanding of what is being consumed touches every aisle of the grocery store — from pesticides used on fruits and vegetables to antibiotics given to livestock. Today, consumers desire to purchase goods that contain the same ingredients they could find in their kitchen pantry.”

 

Angie Singer, director of sales and marketing for Delavau Food Partners, Philadelphia, gave similar views.

 

“Consumers are seeking clean labels that align with their values,” Ms. Singer said. “It’s driven less by specific applications and more by their overall beliefs about some of those traditional ingredients and who in their household will be consuming them. For instance, some tend to be more particular about the labels on foods they purchase for their children than those they purchase exclusively for themselves. In other cases, a shopper who seeks clean label will do so across the board, where clean label options are present. So, whether an individual is purchasing snack cakes or bread, if they seek clean labels for their household, they tend to do so across applications.”

 

Delavau offers an Encore line of ingredients to replace such ingredients as DATEM, L-cysteine, ADA, SSL, calcium sorbate, sodium metabisulfite, propionates, mono-, diglycerides, calcium peroxide and iodates. Depending on the functionality of the ingredient being replaced, Encore ingredients may appear on the label as enzymes, calcium or the specialty carbohydrates used to develop the system, Ms. Singer said.

 

Bakers should consider oxidizing agents, emulsifiers and preservatives when converting to clean labels in baking, according to a white paper from Corbion.

 

Common chemical oxidants are potassium bromate, potassium iodate, calcium peroxide, calcium bromate, calcium iodate and ADA. They provide dough strength. Replacing the chemical oxidants may result in low loaf volume and an open crumb structure. To prevent the negative effects, many manufacturers are turning to enzyme-based systems featuring a blend of different enzymes, according to the white paper. Ascorbic acid also may be added.

 

Emulsifiers such as SSL and DATEM offer mixing and handling tolerance, an increase in loaf volume, improved slicing characteristics and potential anti-staling properties. Mono- and diglycerides are “on the edge of clean label,” said Jesse Stinson, application manager, sweet bakery goods at Corbion, in the white paper.

 

Replacements for calcium propionate, a preservative, include a fermented substrate (such as starch or flour) to create propionic acid with the inclusion of vinegar or raisin-juice concentrate to reduce the pH, according to Corbion.

 

BreadPartners, Inc., Cinnaminson, N.J., offers such ingredients as Extenza to remove bromates and ADA from baked foods. The ingredients may be labeled as enzymes, said Denis Wellington, president of BreadPartners, Inc.

 

“Removing bromate from baked goods requires greater control over the whole baking process, e.g., mixing times, mixing temperatures, proof times, etc.,” he said. “Enzymes have proven very effective in replacing bromate.”

 

Monoglycerides and DATEM sometimes are made from partially hydrogenated oils (phos), according to Cargill, Minneapolis. The Food and Drug Administration last year ruled phos are no longer Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS). Food companies have until June 18, 2018, to remove phos from their products.

 

Monoglycerides and DATEM are used as dough strengtheners, volume increasers and crumb softeners. Cargill’s unmodified soy lecithin products replicate those characteristics in a cost-effective manner, according to the company.

 

DuPont Nutrition & Health plans to promote “clean label” emulsifiers at the International Baking Industry Exposition Oct. 8-11 in Las Vegas. The emulsifiers will contain palm oil, sunflower, rapesee adn canola.

 

Hydrocolloids may play a role in maintaining texture and stability requirements when traditional ingredients such as mono- and diglycerides are replaced, said Steve Baker, senior food scientist for TIC Gums, Inc., White Marsh, Md.

 

“Hydrocolloids act as thickeners and water-holding agents in bakery applications, thus controlling moisture, reducing cracking and resulting in a softer crumb,” he said. “Single ingredient hydrocolloids, such as cellulose gum, hold water and help prevent stickiness during processing. This is particularly important as sheeted or pressed doughs without traditional dough conditioners can encounter problems with machinability.”

 

Hydrocolloids may come from such raw sources as agricultural fibers, tree saps, seeds and seaweed, Mr. Baker said. TIC Gums has created a clean label chart that, for each hydrocolloid, lists its source, whether it is available organically, whether it is available as non-bioengineered/non-G.M.O., and whether it is acceptable in products at Whole Foods Market, Panera Bread Co. or the Simple Truth and Simple Truth Organic lines from The Kroger Co.