Cost effective alternative to gum arabic for flavour emulsions

n-OSA starches have shown superior emulsion-stabilising properties compared with gum arabic. The flavour industry requires ingredients that assist in providing stability and protection to products. Oils and flavours are extremely sensitive to oxidation. So, specialty ingredients must protect or encapsulate oils and maintain the fresh and natural flavours of the original ingredients. Additionally, products with oil and water require ingredients that stabilise the emulsion: consumers do not accept products that "oil off" or have distinct oil phases that separate from the drink. Beverage emulsions are a unique class of food emulsion because they are consumed in highly diluted form. They are first prepared as an emulsion concentrate, which is later diluted in sugar solution to produce the finished soft drink. The soft drink can be either a non-carbonated still drink or a carbonated drink. For both emulsion concentrate and soft drink, the beverage industry requires minimum stability of six months. The emulsion concentrate is an O/W emulsion: water is the continuous phase in which the oil phase is dispersed. This two-liquid system is thermodynamically unstable. To provide long-term stability, the two phases must be mixed under high shear (pre-emulsification) and homogenised in the presence of an emulsifier. The emulsifier will reduce the interfacial tension between the two phases because of its ampiphilic character: the lipophilic side chain is coated to the oil droplets, the hydrophilic backbone in dissolved in the water phase. Emulsion composition (type of essential oil, weighting agent) and preparation depends to a large extent on the type of beverage. The amount of starch in the finished beverage is extremely low (100-200 ppm). Gum arabic (Gum acacia) has been used traditionally as an emulsifying (and encapsulating) agent for flavour oils and essences. However, supply of this product has been irregular and limited, causing very high prices. Gum arabic is viscous at low concentrations in water and has some emulsification properties. It has an extremely high solubility in water (up to 50%) but is ins9oluble in oils and most organic solvents. Gum arabic solutions are negatively affected by ultrasonic and radiation exposure and bacterial contamination, yet they are an effective emulsifying agent because of their protective colloid functionality (arabinogalctanprotein an glycoprotein fraction). Custom-made ingredients with emulsifying (and encapsulating properties) are now available by modifying starches. These starches are made lipophilic ("oil loving") by addition of an octenyl group through chemical modification. They are also hydrophilic ("water-loving") because of their inherent amylose and amylopectin structure. Cold-water-soluble low-viscosity n-OSA starches have shown superior emulsion-stabilising properties compared with gum arabic. By food law, only physical treatment is allowed in addition to the n-OSA substitution to improve functionality. Correct selection of the emulsifying starch is very important. Cerestar has developed C*EmCap 12833 for this application. As well as the n-OSA substitution, the starch is hydrolysed (alpha-amylase) in order to provide low viscosity. This group of products is added to the essential oil to increase its density and help to maintain a stable emulsion. Permitted level of use is restricted by food law. In Europe, the most commonly used agents are Ester gum (100 mg/l) and Sucrose acetate IsoButyrate (300 mg/l). C*EmCap 12833 is an excellent emulsifier in beverage & flavour emulsions. Moreover, its supply is not affected by the climate and political conditions and it offers major economical advantage in combination with improved efficiency and throughput.