Russian scientists design safer, better preservative
for meat and fish that they claim improves resistance to harmful
bacteria and could extend shelf-life by up to 50 per cent, offering
opportunities to food makers, writes Angela Drujinina.
The preservative, named Dilactin-S, is claimed to have a unique combination of physical and chemical, biochemical and technological properties, which increase a product's resistance to microbes.
Dilactin-S also increases shelf-life by between 30 and 50 per cent by slowing down the oxidation process.
The new ingredient is also capable of saving time during production, increasing a product's moisture retension, improving pH levels in a product and cutting the amount of nitrate present in boiled sausages.
Specialists from the Nijnyi Novgorod Fat-and-Oil factory (NMJK), together with Russian Scientific Research Institute for Food Aromatisers and Acids, designed Dilactin-S and the technology to manufacture it.
They said Dialactin-S could be used in a range of products including meat, fish, confectionery and make-up, and emphasised that it would be safer for the human body than many other preservatives of its kind.
"Dilactin's main difference from other preservatives is that this is a product convenient for the human body, because Dilactin is present in the product in just a small amount. This is why Dilactin-S is absolutely safe," said Serghey Kalenov, chief marketing manager at NMJK.
Another company spokesperson, Tatyana Antropova, said manufacturers would benefit from both better products and time-saving. "Usage of Dilactin-S improves products' properties, and at the same time increases its competitiveness."
NMJK will now produce Dilactin-S from the end of July at its Factory of Active Substances.
The company said it was always studying the needs of its partners, while elaborating new products. It has a scientific research centre that is equipped with high-tech and analytical equipment, and the firm collaborates with leading research institutes in Russia, allowing it to fine-tune products with the necessary characteristics.
NMJK said it also provided its partners with technological support. This includes sending a specialist to the factory, where he/she makes recommendations, makes a control issue of a product and adapts the product to the customer's requirements.
NMJK is one of the leading manufacturers of margarine and mayonnaise in Russia. Its market share of these two markets is 32 per cent and 26 per cent respectively. NMJK consists of 5 factories and 14 additional workshops, including solvent extraction plants and storage facilities.
