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food Marketing - Technology 5/2022

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food Marketing & Technology is the international magazine for executives and specialists in the food industry.

Ingredients Replacing

Ingredients Replacing Methyl Cellulose in Plant Based Burgers - Is it Worth it? by Dennis Seisun and Nesha Zalesny Methyl cellulose is unique amongst hydrocolloids. It is the only one that, in solution, will gel when heated and liquefy when cooled. Methyl cellulose, E461, we are told, does not look good to consumers on a food ingredient label. As a result there are on-going efforts to find a replacement for methyl cellulose. What are the pros and cons of trying to substitute methyl cellulose with another hydrocolloid or gelling system? Read on. The unique thermo-gelation property of methyl cellulose has made it a ‘de rigueur’ ingredient in a number of applications especially in fried foods and more recently in plant based burgers. In fried foods, MC gels upon heating and prevents or reduces oil intake thus reducing calories. In plant based burgers MC provides strong binding during the high cooking temperatures while grilling the patty. As the burger is cooled to eating temperatures the MC gel will soften and provide ‘succulence’ during chewing. It is this latter application, plant based burgers, which has driven MC consumption up dramatically in recent years. The skyrocketing consumption of two well known brands of plant based burgers, Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat along with a few others even resulted in a longer delivery lead time (read tight supply ?) situation for methyl cellulose. The initial double digit and maybe triple digit growth rates caught ingredient suppliers off guard. Lead times have now eased just as the growth of this market has slowed or maybe plateaued. Plant based burgers became such an important market that a special grade of MC for this application has been developed. The two leading MC suppliers, IFF (legacy Dow) and Ashland (legacy Hercules) have an “MX” grade of MC with gelling and melting profiles specifically designed for plant based burgers. The MX grade properties are tailored to be best suited during grilling (high temperature) and also at ‘eating temperature’ when maximum ‘succulence’ is experienced. The MX thermal gelation and liquefaction curve is optimized for the cooking and eating temperatures. There are several other producers of MC which offer tailor made grades for this application. Lotte of Korea, Rettenmaier of Germany, Shin Etsu of Japan (Germany), and Shandong Head of China. A use level of about 1-2% of MC by weight is applied in plant based burgers. The lower use level around 1% is for the special ‘super gelling MX’ custom grade of MC produced specifically for plant based burgers. Standard grades of MC will also work but need a higher use level and have slightly different gelling properties and set points. The efforts to replace MC in plant based burgers is purportedly to “clean the label” and address alleged growing consumer concerns about its presence on the ingredient list. Attempts to replace methyl cellulose started some time virtually as soon as the plant based movement started. In fact methyl cellulose itself was used to replace a blend of xanthan and konjac gum which were the gelling/binding agents in the initial Impossible Foods formulation. So far no ideal replacement for MC has been found. This is not surprising really, considering that no single hydrocolloid or blend of hydrocolloids offers the same unique thermal gelation property of methyl cellulose. Citrus fiber (with pectin) is being touted by some citrus fiber producers as a good MC replacement. The pectin within the citrus fiber is a gelling agent but it is NOT a thermoreversible gelling agent. The xanthan/konjac blend which Impossible Foods started with forms a gel but it is NOT thermoreversible. Of all the suppliers and combinations touted as a replacement for MC, none offer the one property which makes MC unique, a thermoreversible gel. This glaring shortcoming, however, 14 food Marketing & Technology • October 2022

Ingredients Key No. 102117 food Marketing & Technology • October 2022 15

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