Cargill’s lecithin products ready to go for bakery customers

Following the US Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) 2015 ruling on partially hydrogenated oils (PHO), Cargill Texturizing Solutions is offering bread manufacturers a successful replacement for monoglycerides and DATEM, which are sometimes made from PHO.

The company says its liquid and de-oiled soy lecithin products are functional, cost-effective and ready to go for bakery customers looking to reformulate products after the FDA ruling.

With consumer and customer pressures growing around “label-friendly ingredients,” Cargill has worked to find replacements that consumers will embrace. Liquid and de-oiled soy lecithin came out on top.

Lecithin products replicate the characteristics of monoglycerides and DATEM

Cargill developed its solution even before the FDA’s move to revoke GRAS status for PHO mid-2015, which also had repercussions for monoglycerides and DATEM, emulsifiers widely used in bakeries as dough strengtheners, volume increasers and crumb softeners. Cargill’s unmodified soy lecithin products replicate those characteristics in a cost-effective manner and give customers a ready-to-go workaround.

“For the last year we have done extensive testing with multiple solutions to offer a replacement for our customers,” said Cargill Master Baker Bill Gilbert. “We’ve worked on processing, texture profile analysis, moisture and had trained sensory panelists evaluate them for 21-day shelf life breads.”

Special efforts were made to come up with a “label-friendly” solution, said Marketing Manager Kathrine Lutz. “The team tested multiple alternatives that could work functionally, but unmodified soy lecithin provided the best solution. In the end, we found it.”

Confident in his test results, Gilbert said Cargill’s solution has proven results. “At a time when manufacturers are faced with rapidly changing market dynamics and lack of R&D resources, Cargill is here to help.”