Stabilizer (food additive)

According to Annex VII Part C of the Food Information Ordinance , previously regulated in Appendix 2 of the Ordinance on the labeling of foodstuffs , stabilizer is a class of ingredients that - referred to as such - can be added to food . Stabilizers are subject to labeling and, like all other food additives , must be tested before they can be approved on the basis of the results.

Stabilizers are not a uniform class of substances in the sense of chemical compounds , but can be very different chemical substances (or mixtures of chemical substances). The common property of stabilizers is that when they are added to a metastable system, they preserve - stabilize - its nature, manageability, aroma or other parameters in a defined manner . A stabilizer can have one or more functions.

Applications

• Alginates stabilize the foam in milkshakes .
• Antioxidants such as vitamin C prevent the oxidation of flavorings and have a taste-stabilizing effect.
• Beeswax is used as a coating and separating agent in the manufacture of gelatin-based sweets (e.g. gummy bears ). In the case of hygroscopic pastilles or sweets  - e.g. B. Liquorice Products  - It prevents water absorption.
• Calcium sulfate is added to keep bread crumbly or as an anti-caking agent in baking mixes .
• Emulsifiers act as stabilizers of mostly two-phase mixtures such as salad dressings or spreads (e.g. peanut butter or nut nougat cream ).
• Color stabilizers are used to preserve food colors.
• Humectants bind water and can thus prevent food from drying out.
• Gelling agents swell in water or bind water, giving soups , sauces or pudding a creamy to firm consistency.
• Maltodextrin is a carrier substance and stabilizer in the lyophilization process (e.g. addition to coffee to stabilize the powder coffee granules).
• Polyphosphates (E 452) bind and stabilize calcium (Ca ²⁺ ) in food.
• Rice flour is used in the production of snacks (biscuits, roasted almonds, etc.) because it prevents them from sticking together and is also a good carrier for colors and flavors.
• Acidity regulators , for example potassium salts of the monomeric phosphoric acid ( E 340 , common E number of the three potassium phosphates potassium dihydrogen phosphate KH ₂ PO ₄ , monopotassium phosphate , dipotassium hydrogen phosphate K ₂ HPO ₄ , dipotassium phosphate and potassium phosphate K ₃ PO ₄ , tripotassium phosphate ) keep the acidity of foods constant, they buffer the pH .
• Antifoam agents prevent undesirable foam formation, for example in beverages with a high protein content .
• Thickeners stabilize a certain consistency or texture (mouthfeel) in food or can imitate fatness in order to make low-fat light products appear fatter .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Saehun Mun, David Julian McClements and Jeonghee Surh: Influence of maltodextrin addition on the freeze-dry stability of β-lactoglobulin-based emulsions with controlled electrostatic and / or steric interactions , Food Science and Biotechnology, Volume 20 (4), p. 1143-1150 (2011).
2. ↑ B. SIVASANKAR: Food Processing and Preservation . PHI Learning Pvt. Ltd., January 1, 2002, ISBN 978-81-203-2086-4 , p. 285.
3. ^ Samuel A. Matz: Chemistry and Technology of Cereals as Food and Feed . Springer Science & Business Media, April 30, 1991, ISBN 978-0-442-30830-8 , p. 671.