Lactic acid-based solutions for food

Corbion’s lactic acids, lactates, and their derivatives are naturally derived food and beverage ingredients that offer multiple benefits to manufacturers in a variety of applications across multiple markets, including dairy, savory snacks and confectionery. 

Also known as ‘milk acid,’ lactic acid was refined for the first time from sour milk by Carl Wilhelm Scheele in 1780. Produced naturally by Lactobacillus bacteria (also used in the process of milk fermentation), it has a mildly sour flavor that’s complementary to dairy and is highly useful in promoting microbiological stability and longer product shelf life. 

Today there are other, more scalable methods for producing lactic acid. Corbion has mastered the art of creating lactic acid through the fermentation of sugar. As a food and beverage ingredient, lactic acid and its derivatives are used far beyond the dairy segment, serving as an effective and reliable preservative, acidifier, taste enhancer and flavor provider. At Corbion, it’s a cornerstone of our business.

Exploring the potential of lactic acid and its derivatives 

Much of Corbion’s success as a leading global ingredient partner has to do with the sheer versatility of lactic acid and its derivatives, and the ability of these naturally derived compounds to deliver multifunctional benefits in a given food or beverage application.

Savory snacks 

Corbion’s PURACAL® PP is more than a taste enhancer. It can be used to reduce acrylamide levels in savory snack products, like potato chips, without any loss of crispiness. 

This natural, calcium-based product is designed to disrupt the formation of acrylamide during the deep-frying process. It can reduce levels of the compound in starch-based products by up to 80%. When used during the washing step, calcium can also improve texture and enhance crispiness. In the blanching stage, it works to restore firmness. 

Cost-effective, non-GMO and non-corrosive, natural PURACAL® PP can even boost the overall color of your product and reduce brown spotting, without impacting other sensory attributes. 

Find out more about how we can help you reduce acrylamide in your products by getting in touch with our experts. 

Dairy 

PURAC® lactic acid solutions are naturally suited for the acidification of dairy products, like milk, yogurts or fresh cheeses. Acidification helps reduce fermentation time and lowers the incidence of precipitation scaling during processing. Because lactic acid is naturally present in dairy, it complements dairy’s taste profile with its mild sour intensity. 

PURAC FCC, our key lactic acid solution, is proven effective at providing microbiological stability and controlling spoilage, which helps extend product shelf life. 

To hear more about the ways we can enhance and protect your dairy product, contact a member of our team. 

Confectionery 

Acids are commonly used in confectionery to provide sourness, balanced with sugar or high-intensity sweeteners. But the way that sour/sweet balance is achieved can lead to stability challenges that compromise product shelf life. Corbion has become highly adept at using it’s portfolio of lactic acid-based ingredients to achieve targeted tastes while avoiding stability issues. 

Our PURAC Powders help create clean, long-lasting sour flavors in confectionery. They can also be used for acid sanding on gummies and marshmallows, and in hard candies with powder-filled centers. 

PURAC Powder MA is specifically designed for acid sanding or sour panning. This malic acid helps ensure high product stability, low hygroscopicity and delivers a fresh sourness that’s long-lasting. It also remains stable even in hot, humid conditions, which helps your product keep its attractive, uniform appearance. It even maintains stability between panning layers and helps avoid sugar inversion.

We’re also leveraging the power of lactic acid to add nutritional value to confectionery through fortification. Our PURACAL®, PURASAL®, PURAMEX® and GLUCONAL® brands include neutral-tasting minerals and vitamins that differentiate candy products and boost their appeal for today’s health-conscious consumers.

Combating gelatin degradation

Our (buffered) acid blends are provided in liquid form, so they are easy to incorporate into existing production processes, requiring no handling, weighing, or mixing in-house. Formulated to help you achieve the sourness you want while maintaining a stable pH, these customizable blends can also enhance fruity flavors and limit the risk of gelatin degradation, which compromises product shelf life.

Talk to our experts about the benefits we can bring to your next confectionery offering. 

Meat products 

For more than 20 years, lactic acid has played a key food safety role in the meat and poultry industries, helping to safeguard health by reducing human pathogens in the value chain. As a natural antimicrobial, lactic acid – such as our PURAC® FCC – can be sprayed (or misted) directly onto meat surfaces such as carcasses, cuts, and trims to reduce the microbial loads of pathogens like E coli, Salmonella, Campylobacter and Shigella.

Our PURASAL® line is formulated to improve the quality of meat products and extend their shelf life by up to 100%. Comprised of naturally-derived sodium and potassium lactates, PURASAL® reduces the growth of spoilage bacteria such as Pseudomonas and Enterobacter by lowering water activity and disrupting bacterial metabolism. It also improves meat quality by enhancing tenderness and juiciness, while increasing the salty taste in processed products so manufacturers are able to reduce sodium levels more easily. 

Finally, lactates slow the degradation of deoxymyoglobin into metmyoglobin, which helps improve natural color retention. This is especially significant in fresh beef, where the use of PURASAL® can preserve that appealing red meat color for up to three additional days. 

Talk to a Corbion expert to learn more about the ways our lactic acid-based solutions can protect the safety, quality and freshness of your meat products.