FOOD ADDITIVE FUNCTIONAL CLASSES

The food additive functional classes are based on the Codex Class Names and the International Numbering
System (INS) for Food Additives (CAC/GL 36-1989).

Clicking a "functional class" will display a list of all food additives associated with that function.

Acidity regulator
A food additive, which controls the acidity or alkalinity of a food. Acidity regulators, or pH control
agents, are food additives added to change or maintain pH (acidity or basicity). They can
be organic or mineral acids, bases,neutralizing agents, or buffering agents. Typical agents
include these acids andtheir sodium salts: sorbic acid, acetic acid, benzoic acid,
and propionic acid.[1] Acidity regulators are indicated by their E number, such as E260
(acetic acid), or simply listed as "food acid".

Acidity regulators differ from acidulants, which are often acidic but are added to confer sour
flavors. They are not intended to stabilize the food, although that can be a collateral
benefit.[1]

o acid
o acidifier
o acidity regulator
o alkali
o base
o buffer
o buffering agent
o pH adjusting agent

Anticaking agent
Reduces the tendency of particles of food to adhere to one another. An anticaking agent is
an additive placed in powdered or granulated materials, such as table salt or
confectionaries to prevent the formation of lumps (caking) and for easing packaging,
transport, and consumption.[1]

An anticaking agent in salt is denoted in the ingredients, for example, as "anti-caking agent
(554)", which is sodium aluminosilicate, a man-made product. This product is present in
many commercial table salts as well as dried milk, egg mixes, sugar products, and flours. In
Europe, sodium ferrocyanide (535) and potassium ferrocyanide (536) are more common
anticaking agents in table salt. "Natural" anticaking agents used in more expensive table
 salt include calcium carbonate andmagnesium carbonate.

Some anticaking agents are soluble in water, others are soluble in alcohols or
other organic solvents. They function either by absorbing excess moisture or by coating
particles and making them water-repellent. Calcium silicate (CaSiO3), a commonly used
anti-caking agent, added to e.g. table salt, absorbs both water andoil.

Anticaking agents are also used in non-food items such as road

salt,[2] fertilisers,[3] cosmetics,[4] synthetic detergents,[5] and in manufacturing applications.

o anticaking agent
o anti-stick agent
o drying agent
o dusting agent

Antifoaming agent
A food additive, which prevents or reduces foaming.

o antifoaming agent
o defoaming agent

Antioxidant
A food additive, which prolongs the shelf-life of foods by protecting against deterioration caused by
oxidation.

o antibrowning agent
o antioxidant
o antioxidant synergist

Bleaching agent
A food additive (non-flour use) used to decolourize food. Bleaching agents do not include pigments.

o bleaching agent

Bulking agent
A food additive, which contributes to the bulk of a food without contributing significantly to its available
energy value.

o bulking agent
o filler

Carbonating agent
A food additive used to provide carbonation in a food.

o carbonating agent
 Carrier
A food additive used to dissolve, dilute, disperse or otherwise physically modify a food additive or nutrient
without altering its function (and without exerting any technological effect itself) in order to facilitate its
handling, application or use of the food additive or nutrient.

o carrier
o carrier solvent
o diluent for other food additives
o encapsulating agent
o nutrient carrier

Colour
A food additive, which adds or restores colour in a food.

o colour
o decorative pigment
o surface colorant

Colour retention agent

A food additive, which stabilizes, retains or intensifies the colour of a food.

o color adjunct
o colour fixative
o colour retention agent
o colour stabilizer

Emulsifier
A food additive, which forms or maintains a uniform emulsion of two or more phases in a food.

o clouding agent
o crystallization inhibitor
o density adjustment agent (flavouring oils in beverages)
o dispersing agent
o emulsifier
o plasticizer
o surface active agent
o suspension agent

Emulsifying salt
A food additive, which, in the manufacture of processed food, rearranges proteins in order to prevent fat
separation.

o emulsifying salt
o melding salt

Firming agent
A food additive, which makes or keeps tissues of fruit or vegetables firm and crisp, or interacts with gelling
agents to produce or strengthen a gel.

o firming agent
 Flavour enhancer
A food additive, which enhances the existing taste and/or odour of a food.

o flavour enhancer
o flavour synergist

Flour treatment agent

A food additive, which is added to flour or dough to improve its baking quality or colour.

o dough conditioner
o dough strengthening agent
o flour bleaching agent
o flour improver
o flour treatment agent

Foaming agent
A food additive, which makes it possible to form or maintain a uniform dispersion of a gaseous phase in a
liquid or solid food.

o aerating agent
o foaming agent
o whipping agent

Gelling agent
A food additive, which gives a food texture through formation of a gel.

o gelling agent

Glazing agent
A food additive, which when applied to the external surface of a food, imparts a shiny appearance or
provides a protective coating.

o coating agent
o film forming agent
o glazing agent
o polishing agent
o sealing agent
o surface-finishing agent

Humectant
A food additive, which prevents food from drying out by counteracting the effect of a dry atmosphere.

o humectant
o moisture/water retention agent
o wetting agent

Packaging gas
A food additive gas, which is introduced into a container before, during or after filling with food with the
intention to protect the food, for example, from oxidation or spoilage.
o packaging gas

Preservative
A food additive, which prolongs the shelf-life of a food by protecting against deterioration caused by
microorganisms.

o antimicrobial preservative
o antimicrobial synergist
o antimould and antirope agent
o antimycotic agent
o bacteriophage control agent
o fungistatic agent
o preservative

Propellant
A food additive gas, which expels a food from a container.

o propellant

Raising agent
A food additive or a combination of food additives, which liberate(s) gas and thereby increase(s) the volume
of a dough or batter.

o raising agent

Sequestrant
A food additive, which controls the availability of a cation.

o sequestrant

Stabilizer
A food additive, which makes it possible to maintain a uniform dispersion of two or more components.

o colloidal stabilizer
o emulsion stabilizer
o foam stabilizer
o stabilizer
o stabilizer synergist

Sweetener
A food additive (other than a mono- or disaccharide sugar), which imparts a sweet taste to a food.

o bulk sweetener
o intense sweetener
o sweetener

Thickener
A food additive, which increases the viscosity of a food.
o binder
o bodying agent
o texturizing agent
o thickener
o thickener synergist

>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Emulsifiers in Baked Goods

February 1996 -- Applications

By: Laura Brandt
Contributing Editor

Tough, dry, stale, leathery, tasteless...

These are words that describe baked goods without emulsifiers. The processing,
distribution and storage of these products necessitates the use of food additives to
maintain the quality and freshness that consumers expect.
Emulsifiers, a subset of surfactants, are commonly used in many food products. An
emulsion is a dispersion of small droplets of one immiscible liquid within another.
Emulsifiers keep the droplets from coalescing. Although these food additives may
offer some degree of emulsification, they perform more important functions in baked
goods, such as starch complexing, protein strengthening and aeration.

The bakery industry is the largest user of food emulsifiers, according to industry
sources. Recent figures indicate that about 400 million pounds of emulsifiers were
used by the food industry; approximately two decades ago about half as much was
used. The bakery industry accounts for 50% of the total food emulsifier market, and
it is estimated that the growth of emulsifiers used in the baking industry will be about
3% per year.

This article explores the functionalities of and misconceptions about emulsifiers

used in the two most common bakery systems: yeast-raised and chemically
leavened products. Some guidelines and caveats for using emulsifiers in baked
goods are presented, and the future of emulsifiers in the bakery industry is
discussed. For information on emulsion chemistry and other applications of food
emulsifiers, please refer to the October 1995 and May 1992 issues of Food Product
Design.

Yeast-raised products
Emulsifiers are incorporated into bread formulas to improve dough handling and
the product's overall quality. They result in significant improvements in machinability,
shelf life and loaf volume. Emulsifiers have two major functions in yeast-raised
products: dough conditioning/ strengthening; and shelf life extension, or "crumb
softening."
 Dough conditioners/strengtheners (protein interaction). Emulsifiers function as dough
conditioners by improving the binding of wheat flour gluten strands to each other. After gas
produced by the yeast escapes through weak sections of the gluten film, part of the gluten matrix
collapses.
Although the mechanism is not fully understood, dough strengtheners increase the
amount of binding sites that gluten strands have to each other and/or form bridges to
supplement disulfide linkages which results in a stronger gluten film. Dough conditioners
provide the following benefits:

Emulsifiers that condition the dough by strengthening the gluten protein network for better gas
retention, improved texture, and increased volume are sodium- and calcium stearoyl lactylate
(SSL and CSL), ethoxylated mono- and diglycerides (EMG), polysorbates (PS), succinylated
monoglycerides (SMG), and diacetyl tartaric acid esters of monoglycerides (DATEM).
 Compensation for variations in raw materials (e.g., flour quality).
 Improved dough machinability by gluten complexing.
 Greater tolerance to production abuse of dough by providing a drier, less sticky dough. This
reduces tearing and facilitates processing.
 Ease of formulating low-fat products; reduction in shortening or oil with no loss of volume,
tenderness, or slicing ease.
 Increased gas retention, resulting in lower yeast requirements, improved oven spring, shorter
proof times, and increased volume.
 Better texture of finished product - i.e., finer grain.
 Stronger side walls, improved symmetry, and reduction of deformed products.
 Improved hydration rate of the flour and other ingredients.
 Crumb softeners (starch complexers). Some bakers erroneously refer to emulsifiers that
function as starch-complexing agents as "crumb softeners" because they were thought to yield a
softer bread by producing a better dispersion of shortening with water. Research indicates that
emulsifiers actually form complexes with amylose, a linear polysaccharide within the starch
molecule. Rather than producing an initially softer crumb, emulsifiers interfere with the
recrystallization (or retrogradation) of amylose, which retards the firming rate.
 Generally, the higher the moisture content of fresh baked goods, the greater the
effects of staling. Yeast-raised products and cakes are more susceptible to staling than
cookies and crackers.

Bill Knightly of Emulsion Technology Inc., Wilmington, DE, has worked with emulsifiers
since the late 1950s and has written many papers to prove the difference between
crumb softening and staling. He explains, "The term 'crumb softener' is a misnomer. As
bread is baked, water becomes bound or entrapped in gelatinized starch, which is a soft
gel. As bread begins to stale, the starch network closes and the starch is transformed
from this soft state into a firm, crystalline state. The bound water previously entrapped in
this three-dimensional network gets squeezed out and becomes free water which then
migrates to the crust, making the crust leathery."

Although one cannot soften bread with emulsifiers, it is possible to slow the rate of
staling. Knightly states that enzymes such as alpha-amylases can be considered true
softeners. Enzymes cleave portions of the amylose chains in the dough, thereby
disrupting the crystalline network in retrograded starch, reducing the rigidity and
increasing the shelf life. He cautions that one must exert proper control over en-zyme
activity in doughs, otherwise gummy, sticky products result.

One of the best starch-complexing agents is a dispersible form of monoglycerides

(saturated types), typically used at 0.5% to 1.0% of the flour weight. Other good starch
complexers include CSLs, SSLs, DATEMs, and SMG. Most bakeries use a blend of
"crumb softeners" and dough strengtheners.

Chemically Leavened Products

Consumers prefer cakes that are light, tender and moist. Without emulsifiers, cake batter
appears greasy and shiny with the fat dispersed in very large, coarse, irregularly shaped particles.
Incorporation of certain emulsifiers provides aeration, foam stabilization, emulsification, and
crumb softening to cake systems.
 Aeration/foam stability. Cake batter is a mobile foam, while baked cakes are rigid foams.
Emulsifiers coat the air cells in foams to provide foam stabilization. In addition, emulsifiers
increase the amount of air that can be whipped into the batter by decreasing the surface tension
of the aqueous phase, thereby increasing the whipping rate of batters.
Carbon dioxide gas, a leavener, does not spontaneously form bubbles in cake batters.
By adding emulsifiers, more uniform air cells are generated and these act as nucleation
sites for the dissolved gas. The result is a cake with improved grain, more even cell
structure, and increased volume.

Monoglycerides, lactic acid esters, propylene glycol esters, polyglycerol esters, and
polysorbates are emulsifiers that provide aeration and foam stabilization.
 Emulsification. Cake batter is also an oil-in-water emulsion, with shortening or oil as the
dispersed phase and water as the continuous phase. Emulsifiers, especially hydrophilic types, aid
in mixing the fat phase with other ingredients. They aid in fat dispersion by breaking the fat into
a large number of smaller particles.
The integrity of the foam walls, formed by proteins, determines cake volume and
uniform appearance. Shortening is an antifoam that tends to disrupt the foam cells.
Emulsifiers coat the fat particles' exterior surface, providing protection to the protein film
cell walls and eliminating film disruption. Because of this protection, bakers can
incorporate plastic shortenings, as well as vegetable oils - notorious antifoams - in their
formulations. Not only is vegetable oil easier to use because of its pumpability at room
temperature, but 25% less fat is required in oil-containing bakery formulations compared
with those that contain plastic shortening. Vegetable oil also enhances the moistness.

 Crumb softness. Crumb softening in cakes involves moisture retention and efficiency of
shortening action, as well as starch complexing. A sponge cake with emulsifiers will have higher
volume, a more tender and uniform crumb, better crust appearance and increased shelf life.
Choosing an emulsifier for a cake system depends on the type of fat used, production
equipment available, and labeling issues. Emulsifiers for cake systems are usually
added into the shortening at levels ranging from 4% to 14%. The most common
emulsifier used in cake mixes is 10% to 14% propylene glycol monoesters (PGME), on
a shortening basis. Typically, emulsifiers such as monoglycerides, polyglycerol esters,
or SSLs are used in combination with "alpha-tending" emulsifiers such as PGME,
acetylated mono glycerides, or lactylated monoglycerides.

In vegetable oil formulations, one may choose a dispersible blend of PS-60, SSL,
sorbitan monostearate, and monoglycerides or a fluid shortening containing lactic acid
esters of monoglycerides. A traditional system still used by bakers contains a plastic
shortening with 5% to 10% mono- diglycerides.

Selecting emulsifiers
"First, food product designers should identify the problem to determine what they want to solve
by using emulsifiers," notes Harold Kazier, applications and technical services manager for
Quest International, Hoffman Estates, IL. "Second, determine what the emulsifier can do for you.
Third, by examining the functionality you need in the system, decide if an emulsifier will solve
that problem. Finally, pick the emulsifier or emulsifier system and optimize usage levels."
Keep the following considerations in mind when selecting emulsifiers:

 Cost. Food designers may initially formulate their product with an emulsifier that provides
excellent functionality, only to decide later that the emulsifying system or other ingredients are
too expensive. Cost of ingredients should be a consideration from the beginning. One must
choose the form of the emulsifier wisely. In the plant, plastic fats and emulsifiers may be more
difficult to use because workers must scrape all of the ingredient from the container which adds
time. Although powdered emulsifiers are easier to use and eliminate the cost of shipping water,
they are not functional in every application.
 Low fat. Food product designers should decide if fat reduction rather than fat elimination
would satisfy consumers' needs. Excellent reduced-fat baked goods can be achieved by adding
small amounts of emulsifiers to the formulation for lubricity, smooth texture, and mouthfeel
associated with higher fat products.
"The first consideration for developing low-fat bakery products should be the product's
performance," according to Mark Dirkes, senior vice president, corporate marketing,
Interstate Brands Corp., Kansas City, MO. Food designers must carefully examine
which ingredients contribute to the desired functionality in their products. Price is the
second consideration.

Dirkes notes, "If you don't perform, you can't compete in the marketplace. Ultimately,
the product needs to satisfy the consumer. The biggest factor in the success of low-fat
products is taste. If they don't taste good, consumers will not purchase them."

Flavor impact can be a problem in reduced-fat products. The initial flavor impact is
followed by a decline, with eventual flavor disappearance. Emulsifiers can help with this
problem by prolonging the flavor impact.

 Regulations. Each country has different regulations for the use of food emulsifiers. "Although
there are no tight regulations on most emulsifiers in the U.S., some of these ingredients are
regulated by the FDA and have usage limits in different applications," Kazier says. "For
example, mono- and diglycerides are not regulated, while polysorbates are more highly
regulated. SSL is used in bread products at 0.5% of flour weight in this country, but at 0.375% in
Canada."
 Natural. "Although most bakers use mono- and diglycerides, there are a few who want a
totally natural label," according to Bruce Sloan, bakery sales manager for Danisco Ingredients,
New Century, KS. "In those instances, we recommend the use of enzymes, which have a more
natural perception to some consumers and are ideally suited for specific finished product lines."
Lecithin aids in the machinability and shortening dispersion of baked goods. "Lecithin
is as natural as soybean oil," explains Charlie Worrall, lecithin marketing manager,
Central Soya Co. Inc., Fort Wayne, IN. "Consumers have a positive image of lecithin as
a healthy ingredient."

A relatively new dough conditioner/staling inhibitor for yeast-raised products contains a

powdered blend of hydrophilic lecithin and distilled monoglycerides to provide better
dough conditioning than monoglycerides alone.

 Synergism. "Emulsifiers usually work best in combination with each other," says Kazier. "For
example, a cake emulsifier system is usually a blend of two or three emulsifiers such as M-DG,
PGME, and lecithin. For bread, one might use a combination of M-DG and EMG together.
Commonly used blends are part of most ingredient suppliers' stock; however, custom blends are
available for specific applications."

Future Outlook
 Although emulsifiers will continue to be functional ingredients in baked goods, several factors
will play a role in how they are used:
 Low fat. Low-fat products will continue to benefit from the incorporation of emulsifiers.
"Most developers of low-fat foods are investigating many different formulation options," says
Knightly. "In baked goods, we may eventually see two main categories of ingredients for low-fat
products such as both carbohydrate- and protein-based gel formers, since they do not add fat
calories; and emulsifiers such as mono- and diglycerides."
 Enzymes and emulsifiers. Enzymes are true crumb softeners, as previously mentioned. "If
you want to use an enzyme, first use the normal levels (0.50% to 0.75% based on flour weight)
of M-DG for dough conditioning and antistaling," advises Knightly. "If this isn't satisfactory or
you need extra shelf life, then add enzymes. For some baking applications where increasing the
level of M-DG is costly, adding a small amount of enzymes is more cost effective.
"The average consumer doesn't realize that M-DGs are naturally occurring in all foods
that contain fats," Knightly continues. "Whenever you have a fatty food in its natural
state it contains M-DG, lecithin, lipoproteins and glycolipids. They all have their
functional value. Although more enzymes will be used in the future, they will not be
replacing M-DG; rather, they will be used together for the best product performance and
cost effectiveness."

According to Wulf Doerry, director of cereal technology, American Institute of Baking,

Manhattan, KS, "Enzymes will have a definite impact on the future of the baking
industry." Although enzymes are currently used to some extent for crumb softening,
Doerry indicates that their use will increase in the future.

"Overseas companies, especially in Germany and Japan, are way ahead of us

technologically. They are willing to invest the time, resources, and money to research
new products and processes," he notes.

 Microencapsulated emulsifiers. Emulsifiers such as monoglycerides are being tested in a

convenient, cost-effective, microencapsulated form, and will be available soon.
 Extended shelf life. Emulsifiers help retard staling in baked goods, thereby prolonging the
shelf life. Two main factors are attributed to this need for extended shelf life: the smaller size of
families today, and longer shipping distances. With smaller families, consumption time of baked
products increases. It may take up to a week for some consumers to finish a loaf of bread.
Therefore, bread must have a total shelf life of seven to 10 days.
Recent changes in the baking industry include consolidation and/ or elimination of
personnel, closure of obsolete plants, and use of larger, more efficient existing state-of-
the-art facilities. This has direct impact on distribution patterns - i.e., shipments of baked
goods may need to travel farther in order to reach their final destination. This adds
another one to two days extra shelf life. It is cheaper to increase the shelf life of baked
goods by adding emulsifiers and shipping them farther, rather than rebuilding old plants.
For the emulsifier market, this means that food product developers should use the
maximum level of M-DG that is economically feasible together with the proper enzyme.
 Healthy and ethnic products. In tortillas, emulsifiers increase flexibility and extend shelf
life.
A client of Knightly recently approached him regarding the quality of their tortillas.
"Before scaling up their operation to include sophisticated production equipment,
Mexican ladies hand-stretched the tortillas out 360 degrees. Such equipment does not
provide the stretching action needed for flexibility. The tortillas cracked when rolled up
to make a burrito," says Knightly.

This problem was solved by the addition of M-DG. Today, packaged tortillas need a
seven-day shelf life in supermarkets.

Other products such as bagels showed a 57% increase in sales last year, with bagels
as the largest growth item in the bakery industry, according to Knightly. Emulsifiers help
to prolong the shelf life of bagels, which can harden very quickly.

 Change in consumption patterns. U.S. consumers are now eating bread like the Europeans -
i.e., they are purchasing a variety of freshly baked "upscale" breads such as multi-grain,
rosemary, and sourdough, and consuming them the same day. One in-store bakery manager of a
large East Coast supermarket chain comments that people are paying between $2.29 per loaf for
"Olde World" sourdough bread and $4.99 per loaf for olive bread. All of these breads include
emulsifiers in their formulations.
As the trend continues toward healthier products that contain less fat, sugar and
sodium, more fiber and no bromate, emulsifiers will play an important role as functional
ingredients in baked goods. Food product designers should keep in mind that no single
emulsifier or combination of emulsifiers is right for every formulation.

HLB Still has a Place

The hydrophilic/lipophilic properties of emulsifiers are sometimes expressed in terms of
hydrophilic/lipophilic balance (HLB). Ranging from zero to 20, this scale indicates attraction to
either oil or water. Emulsifiers that are predominantly lipophilic will have low HLB values and
tend to form water-in-oil emulsions.
In the past, HLB was a common property used to select emulsifiers for actual bakery
formulas. The system has drawbacks, however, because HLB values reflect the
emulsifier's ability to influence surface tension in a simple system only. Because
emulsifiers perform multiple functions in bakery foods, this limits the HLB's usefulness.
Still, HLB does offer a starting point for emulsifier selection in products such as cakes
where emulsification is important.

The cell structure of a cake is formed by proteins. The integrity of these walls
determines cake volume and uniform crumb appearance. Through their emulsification
properties, emulsifiers align themselves at the surface of fat droplets and prevent the fat
from disrupting the protein film. Finding the ingredient with the correct emulsification
properties -- including the HLB -- will, therefore, directly contribute to cake quality.
The perfect mixture: emulsifiers make

our food enjoyable

Add oil to water and the two liquids will never mix.
At least not until an emulsifier is added. Emulsifiers
are molecules with one water-loving (hydrophilic)
and one oil-loving (hydrophobic) end. They make it
possible for water and oil to become finely
dispersed in each other, creating a stable,
homogenous, smooth emulsion.
The ancient Greeks already used the emulsifying power of beeswax in cosmetic products,
and egg yolk was probably the first emulsifier ever used in ‘food production’ back in the
early 19th century. Because of the rather short-term stability of egg yolk, the manufacturers
switched to lecithin derived from soybeans, which has been an important food product since
the 1920’s. But the most important breakthrough for emulsifiers came ten years later when
certain derivatives of fatty acids (mono- and di-glycerides) were introduced. In 1936, their
use was patented for ice-cream production. Nowadays, emulsifier food additives play an
important role in the manufacture of food products such as margarine, mayonnaise, creamy
sauces, candy, many packaged processed foods, confections and a range of bakery products.

Some common applications of emulsifiers

Bread

It is possible to make bread without emulsifiers but the result is often dry, low in volume
and easily stales. As little as 0.5% emulsifier added to the dough is enough to achieve an
enhanced volume, a softer crumb structure and a longer shelf-life. There are two types of
emulsifiers used in bread: dough strengtheners (e.g. diacetyl tartaric acid esters (E 472e)
and sodium or calcium stearoyl-2-lactylate (E 481, E 482)) and dough softeners (e.g. mono-
and di-glycerides of fatty acids (E 471)). Dough-strengthening agents make the dough
stronger and result in bread with an improved texture and volume. Dough-softening agents
allow obtaining a softer crumb structure and increased shelf-life.

Chocolate

All chocolate products contain 0.5% of lecithin (E 322) or ammonium phosphatide (E 442).
These emulsifiers are added to provide the right consistency of the chocolate, so it can be
moulded into plates of chocolate, chocolate bars etc.
If the chocolate has been stored at too high temperatures, its surface may appear dull or
white. This is called ‘bloom’ which makes the product less attractive to the customer.
Sorbitan tristearate (E 492) can delay the development of bloom.

Ice-cream

Ice-cream is one of the most complex foods we encounter; both a foam and an emulsion it
contains ice crystals and an unfrozen aqueous mix. Emulsifiers are added during the
freezing process, to promote a smoother texture and ensure the ice-cream does not melt
rapidly after serving. They also improve freeze-thaw stability. Mono and diglycerides of fatty
acids (E 471), lecithin (E 322) and polysorbates (E 432, E 436) are commonly used in ice-
cream production. All this applies to other desserts such as sorbet, milkshake, frozen
mousse and frozen yogurt as well.

Margarine

Emulsifiers give margarine the required stability, texture and taste. To ensure that the water
droplets are finely dispersed in the oil phase, mono and diglycerides of fatty acids (E 471)
and lecithin (E 322) are widely used. Citric acid esters of mono and diglycerides
(E 472c) prevent the margarine from splattering while polyglycerol esters
(E 477) and lactic acid esters make up for the good quality of margarine used to bake cakes,
for example.

Processed meat

Sausages dominate Europe’s processed meat industry. The main components of sausages
are meat proteins, fat and water, which are bound together in a stable emulsion. Emulsifiers
stabilise this emulsion and distribute the fat finely throughout the product. And in low-fat
meat products, food additives are responsible for making them as pleasant as their full-fat
counterparts. The food industry uses mono and diglycerides of fatty acids (E 471) and citric
acid esters (E 472c) for manufacturing processed meat.

Legislation

Emulsifiers currently used in food production are either purified natural products or
synthetic chemicals that have very similar structures to the natural products.

Just like any other food additive, emulsifiers are subject to stringent EU legislation
governing their safety assessment, authorisation, use and labelling, Directive 95/2/EC of the
European Parliament and the Council of 20 February 1995 on Food Additives other than
Colouring and Sweeteners. These legislations require all added emulsifiers, as all food
additives, to be declared on food packaging with either their name or E-number.

More information

Directive 95/2/EC of the European Parliament and the Council of 20 February 1995 on
Food Additives other than Colours and Sweeteners
Hasenhuettl G E & Hartel R W (eds): Food Emulsifiers and Their Applications, Culinary and
Hospitality Industry Publications Services