Corbion launches bakery icing stabilizer amid titanium dioxide scrutiny

Corbion is supporting the US bakery industry’s transition away from titanium dioxide (TiO₂) with the launch of its Lumi Set ingredient that helps manufacturers formulate water-based icings for bakery products. Titanium dioxide — often used by bakers to enhance baked foods’ icing appearance — is under heavy scrutiny as various states pass or advance laws limiting the ingredient’s use in food applications.

In the US, the FDA still permits TiO₂ in food under specified conditions, including a 1% by-weight limit, but it is also reviewing a petition related to the synthetic whitening additive. Major retailers are removing TiO₂ from private-label products, and substitute innovations are emerging to help companies reformulate without compromising product appeal.

For commercial bakers, Corbion says the changing regulatory landscape is creating real urgency, with many already exploring practical reformulation options. The company describes Lumi Set as a new boil-up type icing stabilizer and a “direct answer to that challenge.”

The ingredient, currently available only in the North American market, can be used in thick icings and string icings used on sweet baked goods such as pastries, cakes, and similar products.

Corbion targets texture and whitening gaps in TiO₂-free icings

Corbion senior scientist Janti Karr tells Food Ingredients First that Lumi Set addresses a key formulation gap in TiO₂-free icings by focusing first on stabilization.

TiO₂ remains permitted in US foods under a 1% by-weight limit as per the FDA.“For commercial bakers, the challenge is not only how an icing looks, but how it performs in a water-based system. Thick and string icings need the right structure, set, flow, and consistency to perform reliably through production and deliver the finished eating experience consumers expect.”

As a boil-up type icing stabilizer, Lumi Set helps support the texture, stability, and application performance bakers need, while also contributing to a more natural white appearance in the finished icing, she explains.

“Rather than approaching reformulation as a color challenge alone, Lumi Set gives bakers a stabilizing tool that supports the functional demands of water-based icings and helps maintain the clean, appealing visual finish consumers associate with sweet baked goods.”

Expanding TiO₂-free icing flexibility in sweet bakery

Bakery manufacturers can use Lumi Set in a range of water-based icing applications across sweet baked goods, including donuts, sweet rolls, pastries, snack cakes, and other iced bakery items where “appearance, consistency, and application performance are important to the finished product,” Karr tells us.

“While thick and string icings are strong fits, LUMI Set can also be used in thinner icing systems, with Corbion’s technical service team helping bakers optimize viscosity based on their specific bowl formulas, formulations, and production needs.”

While the ingredient gives commercial bakers flexibility across different icing viscosities, Karr points out that it also supports the structure and stability needed for consistent performance.

Heat, transport, freeze-thaw, and shelf life shape icing performance in sweet bakery products.“It also helps create a more natural white appearance from the way light reflects off the icing surface, helping bakers achieve an appealing finished look while tailoring the solution to the needs of each application.”

TiO₂-free icings and bakery production stress

Karr highlights how production stresses such as heat, transport, and shelf life impact bakery manufacturers’ ingredient decisions.

“Real-world performance is where formulation support becomes especially important. Factors such as temperature shifts, freeze-thaw conditions, packaging, distribution, and shelf life can all affect how an icing sets, holds, and presents on the finished product,” she explains.

“LUMI Set gives bakers a stabilizing foundation to help build more stable water-based icing systems for those commercial production demands.”

Corbion’s technical service team works with manufacturers to evaluate how the icing behaves in their specific process and finished application, she tells us. They then help adjust the parameters, such as the bowl formula or specific icing recipe/formulation being mixed in the production bowl, as needed.

These steps may include “optimizing viscosity, improving handling, or incorporating complementary ingredients” to support performance through the product’s full journey from production to the consumer experience, Karr concludes.