Using nature’s toolkit to achieve clean label

Published: 3-Mar-2017

Brands concerned about clean labelling to improve consumer confidence can achieve this more effectively if they analyse all the ingredients on the label at the same time to see how their function can be achieved in other ways

Investigating the techniques used in nature to break down structures or counter decay can give food manufacturers new avenues to explore when seeking alternatives to artificial colouring and synthetic preservatives.

Looking at the entire ingredient list is the way to go, not the piecemeal approach that is often used at the moment.

If you really want to improve your ingredient line sustainably, you need to look at the function of all the chemicals on the list and then pick the correct technique or approach to address all of the issues at the same time. This system level approach will also reveal areas wherein processes can be improved or rationalised and more consumer acceptable substitutes made.

One example is that of natural colours. Anthocyanins are a group of chemicals that are responsible for the purple-blue and red colouring in blueberries and cherries. They are powerful antioxidants with other preservative functions, such as the inhibition of fungal growth.

It is their antioxidant quality that makes fruits and vegetables nutritious, and natural colours particularly attractive as an ingredient. However, anthocyanins are sensitive to pH and temperature, which is a major obstacle to them being used in food.

Although desirable, natural colours are inherently unstable. As the fruit ripens, it changes colour, so the colours are created quickly, as and when needed. Stabilising these colours and being able to keep the ingredients as ‘natural’ as possible is an issue, but this can be achieved by looking at how this is attained in the living system.

In a fruit, the colour is reinforced by a process called co-pigmentation, in which another colourless pigment or flavonoid is present. Together they create a complex and this ‘locks in’ the colour. We have found that phenolic acids such as rosemary extract can be used to preserve the colour of grape extract, for example. As this is also a natural ingredient, it resonates well with consumers.

To support our food manufacturing clients, Innovia Technology has been mapping the ‘opportunity space’ for label substitutions. Looking deep into the science behind natural interactions can reveal new options for food preservation, extending beyond chemistry to look at biological interactions and physical processes as well to see how these can be exploited.

Fermentation, for example, is a particularly useful process step. Bioprocessing can be used to make new ingredients, such as xanthan gum, which have been produced via fermentation. However, they’ve often been purified and labelled like a ‘chemical’ ingredient.

An alternative is to use natural fermentation to deliver cleaner labels. For instance, the ingredient Verdad can be labelled as ‘cultured beet sugar’ and used to replace ‘chemical’ preservatives such as sodium lactate or propionic acid. By borrowing emerging metabonomic and screening techniques from biotechnology, food scientists may have the choice of many more functional fermentates in the years to come.

The ‘free from’ market is creating new market opportunities, and natural processes can improve the functionality of ingredients. For example, there is much interest in using pea flour as a gluten-free alternative to wheat; but, pea protein is simultaneously a flavour sponge and a structural element, with the aldehydes that provide much of the ‘pea flavour’ physically bonded into the protein.

Removal of the undesirable ‘pea flavour’ can be achieved through the use of enzymes, which can restructure carbohydrates to trap the pea flavour, whilst others simultaneously cause the protein to ‘clump’ together and create a high-molecular weight structure like the one gluten would normally provide.

Nature has created a fantastic toolbox for us to use. Developments in science are now helping us to better understand all the components, providing new insights into how to improve current processes.

You may also like