Kerry has launched Acryleast, a new fully non-GMO solution for acrylamide reduction in partnership with Renaissance BioScience.
The clean-label, non-GMO yeast, which is rich in asparaginase enzyme, can reportedly reduce acrylamide levels by up to 90% in food and beverage products, including biscuits, crackers, French fries, potato crisps, coffee and infant food.
Mike Woulfe, VP business development enzymes, Kerry tells Food News International more.
FNI: Where would Acryleast be expected to gain the most market share in the coming three years?
Woulfe: We foresee the greatest demand for our non-GMO clean label solution for acrylamide reduction in markets where regulatory bodies have either legislated for reduced acrylamide levels (European Union) or implemented the use of warning signs on foods and beverages that contain acrylamide (California, US).
We also expect to see strong interest from countries where regulatory bodies are investigating the dietary risk of acrylamide for their consumers and working with food industry to develop risk management options and give guidance on best practices for acrylamide reduction, such as China, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
We believe that food and beverage manufacturers that operate internationally, including in Asia, will want to take action to reduce acrylamide beyond those countries covered by acrylamide regulations because it is a real danger for their consumers’ health and it is the right thing to do.
Asian manufacturers exporting into the EU and California, will need to adhere to legislation covering those markets.
As regulation develops in Asia, we would expect to see more local manufacturers investigating and using acrylamide reducing solutions such as Acryleast.
FNI: How does this ingredient stack up against its competition?
Woulfe: We passionately believe in a ‘from food, for food’ philosophy and are driven to find natural solutions to customers’ challenges.
For us, it was essential to launch a solution that was clean label and non-GMO so that both producers and consumers could trust that acrylamide was being reduced consistently, and in the right way.
It is an extremely versatile solution for food producers and its use requires no or minimal changes to manufacturing processes.
FNI: What kind of applications can Asian food manufacturers use the ingredient on?
Woulfe: Acrylamide is found to varying degrees in many different commonly consumed products, such as French fries and potato chips/crisps, baked goods such as biscuits, bread and toast, infant foods, most snacks and coffee.
Initially, we have focused our application work for Acryleast in the categories of baked goods, snacks and processed potatoes.
However, we will broaden this further as the market for non-GMO acrylamide reduction solutions continues to grow.
FNI: What sort of minimal changes to existing manufacturing processes would be needful when using Acryleast for some applications?
Woulfe: Acryleast offers manufacturers an alternative to fundamentally changing their process, such as lowering temperatures, reducing processing time and changing raw materials.
For dough-based recipes, we are able to add Acryleast to the existing manufacturing process without any change.
We advise customers to trial Acryleast in accordance with our initial recommendations and to optimize the dose rate for their manufacturing process.
Feedback from customers who have trialed Acryleast in crackers, crispbreads and biscuits has been very universally positive.
