GLAZING, COATING & POLISHING
Improving shelf life using encapsulated acid
Encapsulated fruit acids – typically malic and citric – are often used to ‘sand’ the outside of gummies and jellies. They are pre-mixed with sugar to provide a visually appealing coating that delivers an initial burst of sweetness and sourness. However, this coating makes the product susceptible to moisture – especially in hot and humid conditions – which can reduce shelf life. To reduce the hygroscopicity of the acid, different barrier materials can be used to coat the acid particles. These coatings resist the entry of water molecules into the acid, reducing their hygroscopicity and extending the product’s shelf life. A study undertaken by Taste Tech set out to determine
which barrier material provided the best protection. The study compared the water absorption of encapsulated and un-encapsulated malic and citric acid when exposed to hot and humid conditions. In both instances, two different barrier materials were used – palm oil and GMS (glycerol monostearate). For each of the encapsulates, 90% by weight was acid and 10% barrier material. The unencapsulated acids were the same grade and granular size used in the encapsulated versions. 20g of each encapsulated acid and 18g of each unencapsulated acid were weighed into a plastic beaker. Each acid was weighed out three times, giving a total of nine beakers per acid type. Each beaker was then placed inside an improver
oven at 30C, RTH 60% for six hours. The weight of each beaker was recorded every hour. The increase in the weight of each beaker shows how much water each acid had absorbed.
44 Kennedy’s Confection May 2022
Acids tested were: • 3 x 20g – 90% Encapsulated with palm oil • 3 x 20g – 90% Encapsulated with GMS • 3 x 18g – Un-encapsulated
The results indicate that more water was absorbed by the unencapsulated citric and malic acid when compared to the encapsulated versions. The differences were shown to be statistically significant, demonstrating that the addition of 10% barrier material is sufficient to significantly reduce the amount of water absorbed by each type of acid. This suggests that using either palm or GMS encapsulated acid will extend the shelf life of a coated confection when exposed to hot and humid conditions (30°C, 60% RH) for over six hours. To determine whether there was an advantage of using palm fat
over GMS to encapsulate the two different acids, a paired T-Test was used to identify whether the differences were statistically significant or due to random chance. The test showed that GMS encapsulated malic acid absorbed significantly more water than the palm version, indicating that the palm encapsulates outperformed the GMS version. However, the palm encapsulated citric acid absorbed more water
than the GMS version. This was the opposite result compared to the malic acid. The differences were not deemed to be statistically significant and can therefore be attributed to random chance. These results demonstrate the positive effects of encapsulation
on the water absorption rate of malic and citric acid in hot and humid conditions. Throughout the test, the amount of moisture absorbed was significantly reduced across all acids when an encapsulation barrier was used, which should substantially improve the shelf life of the confection.
KennedysConfection.com
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