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Use of sorbitol and glycerin in confectionery and bakery as humectants
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Tuesday, 12 October, 2021, 13 : 00 PM [IST]
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Abhilasha Shingote
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The Global Food Humectants Market is expected to witness considerable growth during the forecast period, due to rising demand for functional and nutritional food products across the globe, where the application of humectants is high. Rising utilisation of humectants in health supplements, functional beverages, healthy snacks, confectionery products, bakery products, and others is projected to further drive the food humectants market growth during the forecast years.
Food humectants are food additives (hydroscopic compounds) that can control and maintain texture and viscosity of food. Sorbitol, propylene glycol, and glycerol, sugar and salt are the humectants used by food and beverage industry. Other than food and beverages, humectants are used for various purposes that include manufacturing of skin cream and moisturiser, production of dietary or health supplements, and others.
Humectant
A humectant is a hygroscopic substance used to keep things moist. They are used in many products, including food, cosmetics, medicines and pesticides. When used as a food additive, a humectant has the effect of keeping moisture in the food. Some common humectants used in food are honey and glucose syrup. Some of these humectants are seen in non-ionic polyols like sucrose, glycerin or glycerol. These humectant food additives are used for the purpose of controlling viscosity and texture. Humectants also add bulk, retain moisture, reduce water activity, and improve softness
Humectants are used in stabilisation of food products and lengthening shelf life through food and moisture control. The available moisture determines microbial activity, physical properties, sensory properties and the rate of chemical changes, that if not controlled, are the cause of reduced shelf life. An example of where humectants are used to keep food moist is in products like toothpaste as well as certain kinds of cookies. The most important ones added to food such as baked products are glycerol or glycerine, mannitol, sorbitol and propylene glycol. They also used to keep candles, shredded coconut, and marshmallows from drying out.
The most common humectants for the food industry are Polyols. This is a family of very effective humectant compounds with colourless, odourless, and sweet-tasting properties. Regularly used in many applications this ingredient works as bulking and thickening agents and sugar substitute for food products. The most popular polyols are sorbitol, erythritol, maltitol, xylitol, glycerin depending on the final application and local food regulations are used in various applications like bakery, confectionery, dairy and many others.
Sorbitol
Sorbitol, a sugar alcohol (or polyol) primarily used as a bulk sweetener and humectant in food categories such as bakery, candy and chewing gum. It shares the biggest market among all sugar alcohols. The European food additive number is E420. It is available in both crystalline (commonly powder), and solution form (commonly sorbitol 70 solution) which is also called sorbitol syrup.
It is a nutritive sweetener as it provides caloric value of 2.6 kcal/g which is lower than that of carbohydrate (not polyols) which is 4 kcal/g. So it can be used in calorie reduction products, e.g. weight loss products. Sweetness approximately 60% sweet as table sugar, along with a cool effect and pleasant taste.
The polyhydroxy structure of sorbitol enables it to combine with water, thereby maintaining moisture, controlling crystallisation, and improving the softness in food. At the same time, it has the ability to increase volume, control viscosity and texture. It is commonly used as a humectant in bread and cakes. Candy and gum are often contains with sorbitol which is mainly used as a sweetener to replace sugar. Usually used in combination with fructose. In seafood as a humectant and cryoprotectant. In beverage, sorbitol can chelate metal ions and reduce turbidity.
Is Sorbitol Safe to Eat? Yes, its safety when used as a food additive has been approved by US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA), as well as other authorities. It is generally recognised as safe (GRAS) and can be used as an humectant, nutritive sweetener, sequestrant, stabiliser and texturiser in food.
Glycerin/ Glycerol
Glycerin is chemically a sugar alcohol. On the Nutrition Facts labels, it is included in total carbohydrates, subcategory, in sugar alcohols. In the EU, glycerin is listed as E number E422. Glycerin, glycerine and glycerol are 3 names for the same substance. The name glycerin or glycerine is usual product name and the name glycerol for the ingredient, for example, glycerin syrup contains 99.7 glycerol.
Glycerin is chemically classified as a sugar alcohol, but it is more similar to sugars: it is readily absorbed and converted into glucose in the human body and it provides 4.3 kilocalories of energy per gram. Glycerin is often mentioned as a sweetener with a low glycemic index.
Vegetable glycerin is made from vegetable oils (palm oil, palm stearin, palm kernel oil, coconut oil, soybean production of soap or biodiesel. Animal glycerin is a natural byproduct of animal fats (such as beef tallow) during production of soap. Synthetic glycerin is produced from cane or corn syrup sugar, or propylene (a petroleum derivative).
Food-grade glycerin may be added as a humectant (wetting agent), thickener, solvent or sweetener to dairy pro canned goods, confections, fondant, processed fruits, jams, energy bars and other foods. The source of glyceric vegetable oil, corn syrup, petroleum used in a food product is usually not revealed on the food labels.
Glycerin as a food additive is GRAS by US Food and Drug Administration, expected to be safe to use by adults and children. Glycerin has no known cancer-promoting (carcinogenic), (mutagenic) or birth defect-causing (teratogenic) effects.
(Shingote is research scholar, College of Food Technology, Vasantrao Naik Marathwada Krishi Vidyapeeth, Parbhani. She can be reached at shingoteabhi27@gmail.com)
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