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Chemicals - Applications |
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| Foods |
| Market Overview |
The Food market sectors served by Varsal include Preservatives,
Sweeteners, Aroma/Flavor Chemistry, and Fortifiers/Nutritional Supplementation.
Key products offered in this area include amino acids and chelates,
sorbates, and sweetener agents. |
| Products/Applications |
Amino acids are used to make flavor enhancers especially for savory
flavors via the Maillard Reaction. Aromas created from amino acids
can range from chocolate and fruit to coffee, popcorn and wheat. L-Cysteine
is used to make dough conditioners, replacing Potassium Bromate, and
showing improved tensile strength and extensibility as well improving
flavor. L-Aspartic acid and L-Phenylalanine are used to make artificial
sweeteners, Glutamic acid to make flavor enhancers. Glycine and Cysteine
also act as preservatives.
Amino acids are becoming popular as nutritional supplements, as the
building blocks of protein, for recovery from muscle fatigue. They
are also used to enhance infant nutrition and enteral feeding, and
IV solutions, and are widely used in animal feeding, as well. Amino
acids for feed now play very important roles in improving the efficiency
of protein utilization in animal feeding. The use of amino acids to
supplement feed allows replacement of blood meal and other potentially
contagious crude protein sources. Less crude protein equal to fewer
animals waste and more efficient feeding. Use of amino acids in animal
feed allows the reduction of the usage of precious protein sources
such as corn and soybeans, and the arable land required for their
production.
Amino acid chelates can be a cost-effective and easy to use way to
supplement minerals. I.e. Calcium aspartate as a safe and effective
calcium source, bland-tasting and easily-dissolved, especially for
clear juices and delicate flavor systems. The chelate is a stable
form to hold the Ca ion, buffering against GI acid, and leading to
much higher Bioavailability, up to 90% absorption rate in the GI tract.
Other chelates can be formed as well, i.e. Copper Aspartate, Zinc
Aspartate, Magnesium Aspartate.
Sorbates have worldwide approval for use in a variety of foodstuffs,
and are used as preservatives for food, especially cheese and wine.
Sorbates include sorbic acid and potassium sorbate, as well as calcium
sorbate. The world market for these sorbates is growing rapidly, and
Chinese producers are dominating the market, offering Kosher grade
products and Kosher for Passover. Sorbic acid and its salts are versatile
preservatives, effective against molds, yeasts and many bacteria.
They are simple to use and economical, and there are no known reports
of acquired resistance to sorbic acid. Another important characteristic
of sorbates is that they are impervious to the heating processes normally
used in food technology. |
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