Enzymatic power harnessed to tackle food waste and help offset carbon emissions

22 Nov 2021 --- Enzymes are core ingredients in processing and formulating many food varieties. They can be utilized to enhance a number of aspects of plant-based and clean label recipes, from flavor and texture – to anti-curdling, foaming and frothing properties. 

FoodIngredientsFirst speaks to makers of enzymatic solutions to delve further into developments within the space. They highlight the potential of enzymes in mitigating food waste and meeting further climate goals, while sharing insights on the regulatory challenges shouldered by suppliers in this sector.

“There’s been significant changes in the role enzymes play in food and beverage production over recent years,” comments Frederik Mejlby, vice president marketing food and beverage, Novozymes.

“From primarily being used to optimize processes in industrial applications and enabling lower water and electricity use, we’ve seen a shift towards using enzymes to produce products that are better for the planet and improve the health and wellness of consumers, such as through removing chemicals or enabling plant-based products.”

One key challenge in the enzyme market is the lack of consistency across the global regulatory landscape.Echoing this, Jacques Georis, global R&D fermentation sciences director at Kerry Group stresses: “Enzymes can be an ally in this sustainability journey as these natural and invisible powerhouses can effectively help manufacturers improve their sustainability metrics.”

“Kerry has expanded its enzymes portfolio used within bakery and brewery beyond traditional applications, to actively tackle climate change – in particular food waste reduction and supporting circular economy – using nature’s own resources.”

The need for standardized regulation
One key challenge in the enzyme market is the lack of consistency across the global regulatory landscape.

From a regulatory point of view, the landscape for enzymes is complex with frequent updates to regulations, which depend on several different factors such as specifics of the given country or region and type of F&B application.

“Different countries have different views on labelling requirements for enzymes, mainly due to the different degrees of knowhow about the technology among global regulatory authorities,” says Georis.

“Industry is actively working with institutions such as the World Health Organization (WHO) and the UN Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) to standardize the enzymes’ regulatory landscape globally,” he outlines.

“Achieving standardized labelling for enzymes would expedite manufacturers’ ability to launch innovation to several markets simultaneously, benefiting those global customers that have processing facilities across the world.”

All enzymes – irrespective of their downstream application – undergo rigorous safety evaluation and must meet strict safety standards imposed by national regulations that are in place worldwide, notes Georis.

“Ensuring global compliance requires regular monitoring of any changes to those national or regional regulations.”

Elevating umami and kokumi
Amano Enzyme recently introduced Umamizyme Pulse, a non-GMO enzyme designed for use in various plant protein products to produce a pleasant, savory umami flavor, similar to that provided by monosodium glutamate (MSG). 

In Novozyme’s Saphera Fiber solution, the supplier has found a way to convert the lactose in milk and into a dietary fiber that strengthens gut health.In addition, it enhances kokumi – a Japanese concept known as the “sixth taste” denoting “heartiness” or “mouthfullness” – bringing depth, fullness of the mouth and richness.

“Umamizyme Pulse is an animal-free enzyme formulation optimized to produce high glutamic acid and cysteine levels and less bitter flavor in proteins, including pea, soy, almond and rice,” explains a company spokesperson.

“It is comparable, or better than, traditional ingredients for producing a rich, savory flavor in proteins, providing customers with a vegan-friendly product.”

Amano Enzyme has also developed Protein Glutaminase Amano 500 (PG 500), a protein glutaminase believed to be the first food enzyme to improve the solubility of proteins at low pH levels. 

“When proteins are added to low pH formulations, they precipitate, limiting flavor and formulation options,” details the spokesperson.

“PG 500 converts glutamine residues in protein into glutamic acid which increases solubility at levels as low as pH 4.5. This greatly expands the applications and options for manufacturers. While the enzyme works for all proteins, it works especially well for plant-based proteins including pea and soy.”

Fighting food waste with enzymes
Enzymes have a crucial role to play in preventing and reducing food waste and its associated carbon emissions most notably within bakery, brewing and the meat industry.

“Globally, we have a big challenge with food waste and a staggering one-third of all food produced goes to waste, with an economic cost of US$936 billion to the world’s economy,” says Georis. “Consumers are becoming increasingly more receptive to it, with about half of consumers globally willing to pay extra for food and beverage products that help solve food waste.”

Viewed by category, bakery represents the largest volume of waste within the food industry, Kerry identifies. Georis underscores that extending shelf life of baked goods is crucial to reducing food waste, with some studies proving that increasing the shelf life of baked goods by two days reduces those items going to waste by 40%.

Kerry’s BioBake enzymes were developed to extend the shelf life of baked goods. “This technology helps manufacturers significantly reduce waste and improve production line efficiency, while still producing superior products that maintain their quality and functionalities,” details Georis.

“BioBake enzymes systems helped a cracker manufacturer reduce food waste by 20%, increase line efficiency to 90% and reduce dough development time by 50%, which in turn meant significantly less energy and water consumed during the production process, while still achieving product consistency and desired color and crispness.”

Balancing formulations
Enzymes are powerful and highly specific catalysts, and their specificity is due to their precise mode of action. 

To ensure it is dosing our enzymes optimally, Kerry leverages its dose-effect analytical data to test across a range looking for optimal enzyme performance as well as minimised impact on the overall process and final product quality. 

“When incorporating an enzyme into a bakery recipe, we are guided by our extensive application dose-effect analytical data,” says Georis.

To achieve the desired outcome with an enzyme, he notes it is important that the enzyme inclusion level is precise and optimal for the target application. 

“For example, the use of non-starch polysaccharide (NSP) degrading enzymes ensures optimal dough handling and processability without acting on the starch content,” he continues.

“However, NSP degrading enzyme overdosage can lead to increased water absorption, sticky dough and higher wastage.”

Shortening supply chains
Novozymes underscores how shortened supply chains – an efficient strategy to offset shipping costs and emissions – is essential in the production of enzymes for its malt-based beverages. 

“Globally, malt-based beverages such as beer and several non-alcoholic beverages rely on malt that’s been imported from Europe,” Mejlby details.

“We’ve developed enzyme solutions that enable the use of locally sourced raw materials instead. To our customers, this saves shipping costs, but it also saves greenhouse gas emissions when you can source materials locally instead of transporting them around the world. 

Mejlby sees a big potential for this, especially in Asia where malt-based beverages are popular. “When it comes to human health, we’re developing enzymes that make it easier for consumers to live healthier lives.”

“For instance, we have launched a solution, Saphera with Tastegem, together with Firmenich that allows dairy producers to reduce added sugar content in fermented milk products with more than 30%, and our flavor enhancement solutions mean that manufacturers can add less salt to a series of food products while retaining the same flavor profile.”

In Novozyme’s Saphera Fiber solution, the supplier has found a way to convert the lactose in milk and into a dietary fiber that strengthens gut health. This is particularly salient as consumers are becoming increasingly aware that a healthy gut has a positive impact on overall wellbeing.

Among other developments, the company is working on different enzymatic solutions to give meat analogues the right texture and taste and reducing the need for additives. 

“While the industry has been quick to produce first-generation products, there’s still some way to go in developing healthy products that taste great and don’t contain artificial ingredients and we see that our enzymes can play an important role in this space,” Mejlby concludes.

By Benjamin Ferrer