What’s in your food?
We depend increasingly on shops rather than kitchen gardens for our food. More and more people are living busy lives in cities, with little time for the preparation of fresh food. Demand for food products which require little or no preparation is growing strongly, and processed food products are now extremely popular.
We use processed foods all the time. These include our breakfast cereals and orange juice, our lunchtime soup, the cereal bar that we eat in the afternoon and the pasta sauce that we use for our evening meal.
Most of these foods and beverages contain ingredients which make the products more convenient to use. They make the products easier to purchase, store and prepare; but they also make them tastier and healthier.
Food and beverage ingredients cover the following types of product:
Enzymes
Food enzymes are used in a broad spectrum of applications such as dairy, baking, fruit processing, beer brewing and the manufacturing of other alcoholic beverages. Enzymes are proteins produced by all living organisms. They can be used for example to prevent haze in beer, preclude the formation of crystals in wine, or improve the characteristics of baked foods such as bread and cakes.
Functional ingredients
These support health needs such as the management of weight or blood sugar levels.
Nutritional ingredients
These ingredients add nutritional or health benefits to the final product. They redress a deficit in ‘normal’ levels or enhance the product in specific ways. When nutritional ingredients are added to achieve a defined health goal (for example, to boost the immune system), they are called nutraceuticals. Vitamins, carotenoids and long-chain polyunsaturated acids (LC-PUFA) are among the most important nutritional ingredients.
Preservation
Preservation products are used to prevent harmful bacteria and unsightly molds from growing in food stuffs. Safe and natural preservation products help to prevent waste, they increase shelf life and protect global food brands. Less waste, safer food.
Savory
Yeast extracts are made by extracting the contents of yeast cells. They are used in a wide array of applications, such as snacks, soups and sauces. Yeast extract based savory flavor ingredients help product developers, flavourists and chefs create authentic tasting savory foods.
Tests
All across the industry, milk quality standards are high. In order to ensure that legal milk quality standards are met before further processing, testing for antibiotic residues is necessary when a cow has been treated. In order to reduce the chance of contamination, testing is necessary throughout the whole processing chain.
DSM is a leading-edge developer and producer of ingredients for foods, beverages, dietary supplements and personal care products. Our ingredients play a key role in many of your favorite food and beverage brands. You won’t find our name on the packages, but our ingredients are in many of the products in your kitchen cupboard.
