Pork scratchings gain oil extension with rosemary extract

31-Mar-2009 - Last updated on 01-Apr-2009 at 10:50 GMT

A snack firm has become the first to use Vitiva’s Inolens 4 rosemary extract in a pork scratchings product to make frying oil last longer, and to enable longer shelf life.

Slovenian extract firm Vitiva has been selling its Inolens 4 range for use in a range of food products, with uses including acrylamide reduction, preservation of citrus flavours and the prevention of rancidity in fish and meat products.

Now UK-based Green Top Snacks has opened up a new avenue, using it in the production of its pork scratchings product. Pork scratchings are snacks made from pork skin, and are particularly popular as bar snacks in the UK. They are thought to have originated in the West Midlands in the 1800s.

Despite the historic origin of the food, the snack firm was seeking to tap a contemporary trend, for natural food.

“Our goal was to use frying oil for our Pork Scratchings Snacks product line for a longer time, without adding any synthetic preservers, and while preventing rancidity and oxidation,” said Lee Edwards, managing director of Green Top Snacks.

The extract is said to act on the frying oil, reducing oxidation and the formation of free fatty acids and aldehydes. This means that the oil can be used for longer, translating into cost savings for manufacturers.

The cost aspect is particularly important given the recession; in addition, vegetable oils have been subject to cost peaks in the last 18 months, meaning that attention needs to be paid to usage.

The companies also claim the rosemary extract has enabled a 50 per cent increase in shelf-life.

Green Top Snacks sells its branded pork scratchings via retail and food service channels, as well as offering a private label service in the UK, Spain, Portugal and France.