Clean label flavour & colour protection

Just as oxidation is a key culprit that impacts food and beverage quality and consumer acceptability, plant extracts are the industry’s superheroes that significantly delay or prevent myoglobin oxidation, and as a result, lengthen shelf life. Vitamin C-rich acerola cherry extract powder from Kemin contains active molecules that help to protect a variety of food and beverage products. “Not only does acerola protect the organoleptic and nutritional qualities of products over the long term, as a single ingredient solution, it is an excellent consumer-friendly option for meat manufacturers,” says Courtney Schwartz, Sr. Marketing Communications Manager, Kemin Industries Food Technologies Division. “Acerola extract acts as a reducing agent, improving colour stability in raw, uncured and cured meats, and sausage products. It also acts as a cure accelerator in cured meat products (as an alternative to erythorbate and ascorbate).”

Though acerola is an effective colour protector on its own, it can also be used in combination with other extracts, like a blend of rosemary and green tea. Here, acerola capitalizes on the unique benefits of both extracts in order to maximize flavour and colour retention during long-term storage for enhanced protection. For example, when acerola is combined with a rosemary and green tea blend, it adds a full day of colour stability to ground beef in modified atmosphere packaging (MAP). www.kemin.com