New Product Line Unveiled: Free of Gelatin and Gelatin Substitutes

Clean labels in the food and beverage industry have led to changes in the simplicity of labels and ingredient lists throughout the industry. Manufacturers face many challenges to meet consumer demand and innovative technologies to reshape their products, including the removal of gelatin from gummies and health care sugars. As the trend of paying attention to clean labels continues to develop, the research and development department must increase the research and development of new technologies.

Phila 'Becket, market research analyst at TIC Gum, said: "Fudge is a popular carrier for vitamins and nutritional supplements, and this unique texture has traditionally been manufactured with gelatin. However, in recent years, consumer demand for transparency in food ingredients has increased and there has been a growing demand for gelatine-free products."

Phila 'Becket also notes, "Interestingly, since 2012, about 55 percent of gummies and jellies in the United States have been gelatine-free, but only 6 percent of sugar products are strictly vegan." However, kosher certification and halal certification are becoming more common, accounting for about 20 percent, most likely because multiple dietary restrictions are more attractive to consumers."

Phila 'Becket believes that gelatin can create unique texture properties, and there is no alternative material. "While ingredients such as pectin are used as alternatives to traditional gelatin, formulators have found that substituting pectin for gelatin may not produce the desired texture in the final product," he explains. "We identified bond, hardness, elasticity and stickiness as the four key properties of gummies and developed an adhesive to modulate these properties."

Ticagel Natural GC-581 B Gums is a non-GMO colloidal alternative to gelatin.

Phila 'Becket said: "It can adjust important texture characteristics such as adhesion and hardness, allowing manufacturers to customize gelatine-free gummies to deliver the desired texture combination."

Emsland Group is also facing the rising trend of gluten-free and high protein in the food industry. The group recently launched a new Candy concept, Jelly Bar. Their ingredients produce transparent, fresh, and resilient fruit strips by extrusion or pouring processes. The jelly bars can also be coated with chocolate or other sweet coatings.

The innovative ingredient for the jelly bars is Emden ET 50, a newly developed hydroxypropyl starch (E1440) from Emsland. Products made from this starch can be stored for a long time without overcoming difficulties, and this starch is also suitable for preparing vegetarian and fat-free sugar products.

Jelly sticks are the latest application of this new starch, which is in its infancy and is currently mainly used in Gummy Bear products, but it can also be used in marshmallows and jam products.

Gelatin is found in most gummy candies, but the growing demand for vegan, kosher and halal certified products is driving innovation in this area. Anlit, a company that has already replaced gelatin with pectin, uses unique technology and a clean, starch-free injection molding system to produce a soft and textured turmeric pectin.