Lecithin: Nature's Versatile Volatile Emulsifier

One of the main benefits of lecithin, particularly in bakery goods, is ensuring handling ease and stability during manufacturing. Powdered lecithin formulations are designed primarily to assist with product flow, density and handling during different production processes. Additional benefits include shelf-life extension, texture improvement, production optimization and cost reduction.

Instant foods. In powdered instant foods, emulsifiers improve the wettability and dispersibility of powders, as they help to prevent powder particles from sticking together and becoming lumpy during rehydration.

Forms for every application

Lecithins are available in four forms: fluid, for cake and confectionery toppings; tailored fluid, for bakery; deoiled, for chocolate, confectionery and salad dressings; and selected and/or fractionated deoiled forms for instant powder beverages.

Recent developments in the selection of different raw materials used as carriers for lecithin can suit different manufacturing requirements. Wheat flour, calcium sulfate, lactose and palm oil all provide different types of technical benefits to manufacturers. Enzymes, as well as hydrocolloids like xanthan gum, carrageenan, galactomannans and alginates, can each contribute special functionalities and synergistic effects when employed in blends as lecithin carriers.

Compared with traditional fluid lecithin, which is quite viscous and difficult to handle, powdered lecithin allows manufacturers to use it just as they would other common powdered ingredients. It also is possible to combine powdered lecithin with other fatty ingredients in powdered form, again offering additional ease of handling and functionality.

The complexity involved needs to be well monitored, especially when the fat content is quite high in the final mix, to avoid stickiness, caking, color variation and, in particular, to precisely guarantee the powder flowability.

A quality match

Because lecithin isn’t a uniform, standard material—but a natural mixture of a series of surface-active components that produce significant variation in their composition, functionality and suitability for different applications—quality differences occur.

“Some applications require extremely detailed quality requirements while, for others, that degree of sophistication would be overkill,” says Cindy Palermo, marketing communications lead, Americas, Cargill Texturizing Solutions, Wayzata, MN. “We developed a Lecithin Quality Toolbox to help food manufacturers pinpoint their needs much more precisely to arrive at a clear and cost-effective product/application match.”

Requirements can vary from color or transparency specifications to more complex requirements, such as low-iron lecithin for margarine products and specific phospholipids patterns in chocolate or dietary applications. Microbial requirements also can vary considerably depending on the application, with infant nutrition being a particularly sensitive area. Food product recalls and contamination incidents are increasing concerns in risk management and crisis prevention. This applies particularly to processes involving lecithins.

Jerôme Clément is bakery applications specialist, Cargill Texturizing Solutions, Baupte, France. Cargill Texturizing Solutions (cargilltexturizing.com) is one of the world’s leading suppliers of texturizers and emulsifiers to the global food and beverage industry. From design through development to manufacturing, it is committed to creating with its customers innovative new products for consumers to enjoy. Cargill (cargill.com) is an international provider of food, agricultural and risk management products and services, with 158,000 employees in 66 countries.