Global ingredients manufacturer Kemin Food Technologies is examining how ingredients such as sugar alternatives can impact pH and the shelf life of dressings and sauces. The company is disseminating new research about how various ingredients with antimicrobial activity can achieve a clean label and keep products safe and fresh.

“Although dressings and sauces are typically a low pH food, some microbes can still grow in these products,” remarks Dr. Gokila Thangavel, senior scientist at Kemin Food Technologies – North America.

“It is important for manufacturers to consider how specific ingredients can impact pH and the shelf life of dressings and sauces.”

Dressings and sauces are generally shelf stable, except for a few acid-resistant microbes that can cause problems.Switching out artificials
Dressings and sauces are generally shelf stable, except for a few acid-resistant microbes that can cause problems.

The specific ingredients and processes for making dressings and sauces can vary. However, the major ingredients used generally consist of emulsified vegetable oils that are high in unsaturated and poly-unsaturated fats.

Such fats are particularly susceptible to oxidation. Consequently, preservatives are often added to improve taste stability and shelf life.

Historically, these preservatives have been synthetic ingredients such as  ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) and tertiary butylhydroquinone (TBHQ). 

These ingredients will diminish the “naturalness” of the mayonnaise in the eyes of the consumer, Kemin stresses. Furthermore, the use of EDTA is not allowed in many countries.

As manufacturers remove such preservatives from their dressings and sauces, it is important that they take steps to protect their brand by finding clean label alternatives, notes Thangavel.

“While there are a variety of clean label antimicrobials available, it is important to consider the many factors that can impact your finished products,” he details.

“Factors such as the type of sugar or sugar alternative being used in the formulation can really impact the microbial population in dressings.”

Rosemary and green tea extracts offer clean label shelf life extension opportunities.Rosemary and green tea extracts
Among Kemin’s range of solutions targeting sauces and dressings, NaturFort is a versatile combination consisting of rosemary and green tea extracts that complement each other. They provide superior protection with a positive impact on flavor, color and odor. The blends are highly efficacious in sauces, dressings and condiments as well as in meat and poultry products.

The combination of rosemary and green tea extracts provide many advantages over single-ingredient antioxidant solutions. Its combination of water- and oil-soluble ingredients notably gives a stronger protection of the entire food matrix.

Due to milder, more balanced flavor characteristics of the blend, higher application rates can be used compared to single ingredients. For example, the addition of high levels of rosemary extract or green tea extract alone may negatively affect the flavor profile of meat. 

Meanwhile, the catechins in the solution’s green tea extract are known for their potential to act as an iron chelator, suppressing the pro-oxidant iron that can be released from the hemoglobin during the production of ground meat.

BHA, BHT and TBHQ alternatives
Fortium R is another rosemary extract-based line designed by Kemin for protection against color and flavor degradation.

The food products can be used in several applications such as proteins, sauces, fats and oils.

Fortium R provides a clean label alternative to traditionally used synthetic antioxidants such as butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA), butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) or TBHQ.

Plant-derived antioxidants have shown to be effective in extending the shelf life of food products with a high fat content.Preservation in high-fat products
Fortium T is a line of robust and label-friendly food antioxidants based on plant-derived tocopherols.

In addition to dressings and sauces, the natural antioxidants are effective at protecting a variety of food applications – such as spices and cereals – from color and flavor degradation.

These plant-derived antioxidants have shown to be effective in extending the shelf life of food products with a high fat content.

Marine oils are particularly vulnerable to oxidation due to their high content of polyunsaturated fatty acids. In the Fortium T line, Fortium RPT40 Liquid is designed to protect products containing marine oils such as herring oil and salmon oil.

Next to vegetable and marine oils, animal fats remain a popular food ingredient. But due to their proneness to oxidate, they need the best possible protection in terms of food safety and shelf life. Fortium TG20 Liquid is a natural antioxidant to extend the shelf life of animal fats, as Kemin studies have found – for example, goose fat.

Goose fat contains a high amount of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids. It is more unstable and vulnerable to lipid oxidation, which causes rancidity.