Puratos Creates Guar Gum Replacement Technology as Material Prices Continue to Rise

Their new technology can be applied in various applications; Puratos claim it can help with “customised ingredient solutions adapted to application, recipe and process conditions.” Over recent weeks, due to an increase in demand in other industries, the market price of guar gum has been rising.

20 Mar 2012 --- Puratos have developed a new method for replacing guar gum from recipes, either partially or completely.

Their new technology can be applied in various applications; Puratos claim it can help with “customised ingredient solutions adapted to application, recipe and process conditions.”

Over recent weeks, due to an increase in demand in other industries, the market price of guar gum has been rising.

Hydrocolloid News say that prices as high as €15/kg (US$19.80/kg) have been reported in recent weeks, due to its increased use amongst a range of industries. Guar Gum undergoing a surge in demand due to its use in the oilfield hydraulic fracking process.

Speaking last month to FoodIngredientsFirst Daniel Malcorps, CEO of the Puratos Group said: “[The Industry is] under pressure because of raw material costs. Our customers are under pressure because all their consumers do not want to pay much more for their products. We need to help our customers in terms of improving the cost in use of their product and sometimes through innovation, you can optimize the cost of a product, even if the raw material prices are increasing. This is something that we are doing a lot.”

In bakery guar gum is principally used for its water binding properties. This results in different functionalities depending on the bakery application:

In rye bread it improves the dough machinability, bread volume & shape and keeps the bread fresh for longer time.

• In crusty bread it provides a wider shred & break and a rounder shape.
• In prefermented frozen dough it increases the freezer shelf-life.
• In par-baked frozen bread it reduces the crust flaking.
• In flat bread it improves the pliability.
  

Puratos Group say that: “With the recent price rises, the impact of guar gum on recipe cost has simply became too high and furthermore availability also became a huge problem.

“Puratos has developed technology to replace partially or completely the guar gum from your recipe. The technology can be applied into various applications.”

Key benefits of their new formulation are:

• Rye/wheat bread, without guar gum, keep the same volume & shape and maintaining freshness in time.
• Part-baked baguette, without guar gum, with reduced crust flaking after second bake.
• Pre-fermented frozen croissants, without guar gum, keep freezer shelf-life up to 6 months and more.