China-headquartered natural ingredients supplier Layn has unveiled a variety of plant-based clean label preservative solutions under the Plantae Preservation range. These formulas have been developed through research of the antioxidant properties of various botanical extracts and the synergies between them. These function to shield food products from the oxidation processes that occur over time in meat, fish, bakery, snacks, sauces and spreads.

“The uniqueness of the Plantae Preservation platforms is that we have moved away from the already well known traditional synthetic and natural antioxidants like rosemary extract. We worked alongside the botanical division of two Italian universities to explore what natural extracts can be provided in particular in the Mediterranean area with these functionalities,” Luca Pennestri, General Manager EMEA Region at Layn, tells FoodIngredientsFirst.

“An amazing aspect is that this research started from the history books and from the use of medicinal herbs that our ancestors made. In a time when technology was not available, nature provided the preservatives and antimicrobials for food and other applications. Imagine that one of the plants tested was used to slow down microbial activity in mummies in ancient Egypt. Most of these plants grow spontaneously in the wild, so the next steps were to understand how to build a fully sustainable supply chain, cost effectiveness and respect our application standards.”

The Plantae Preservation range offers liquid and powdered formats of seleced combinations of standardized botanical extracts with significant antioxidant properties. Some are highlighted as “favorably competing against beta-hydroxy acid (BHA) at the same dose of the synthetic preservative.”

“from all this work, we can say that we have two Plantae preservatives platforms ready: one oil and one water soluble that perform excellently and are heat stable, colorless and flavorless in application. These are cost effective and perform well across many different applications,” details Pennestri.

“All the work we have done and are doing in the fields and the labs has put us in a position to now, move forward at a faster pace, to develop new better performing platforms for preservation of shelf-life, color, flavor and antimicrobial activity, dedicated to the food and beverage industry. 

I strongly believe that the Plantae Preservation category by Layn will play a key role in supporting the clean label movement that is expanding globally.”

Clean label movement
The clean label movement continues to incite waves of innovation, particularly driven by expanding consumer label literacy and policy shifts that curb the use of synthetic food and beverage additives.

In this space, Kemin Food Technologies highlighted its range of clean label antimicrobial and antioxidant solutions at the 2020 Institute of Food Technologists Annual Meeting and Food Expo (IFT20) virtual event, SHIFT20.

A renewed interest in home-baked products, meanwhile, has brought more natural bakery NPD into the spotlight which includes trending clean label fortified bakery solutions, according to suppliers active in this market. The COVID-19 pandemic continues to inspire healthier consumption patterns favoring this theme, the companies highlight.

Earlier this week, Salt of the Earth released Mediterranean Umami, a sodium-reduction clean label ingredient to help food manufacturers improve their Nutri-Score label. The company’s range solution comprises powder and liquid formats, each derived from natural plant extracts rich in umami flavor compounds.

In other developments, Kerry’s acrylamide-reducing Acryleast yeast solution received “organic suitable” status in the EU, following a similar achievement in the US. This new designation comes ahead of the EU’s landmark enforcement of maximum allowable levels of acrylamide in children’s food categories in clean label and organic bakery and snack applications.