Symrise develops sustainable process for citrus oil extraction

The process, developed at its Global Citrus Centre in Sorocaba, Brazil, involves using differences in the solubility of various components in the oils to isolate those that relate to flavour and aroma, rather than by distillation.

“This mild process guarantees a more authentic fruity flavor and, at the same time, it also retains the delicate nuances of the starting raw material,”​ the company said.

The oils are derived from South American citrus fruits, including Brazilian oranges, Argentinean lemons and Mexican and Peruvian limes, and Symrise claims that having a base on the continent also makes its citrus oils more environmentally sustainable.

Global director of citrus business development at Symrise Erlon Pereira said: “Last year we opened the Global Citrus Center in Sorocaba, which gave us a strategic edge in comparison with our competitors, as we are based in Latin America, the world’s most important citrus growing area.”​

Sustainability​

The company has continually stressed the importance of environmental sustainability in the development of its flavours and fragrances, claiming that wherever possible ingredients should be from renewable sources and grown close to production plants to minimise transportation costs. In addition, its extraction process is carried out at near-ambient temperatures, which helps curb energy use.

This is the case with its new citrus oil extraction technology which, unlike traditional distillation, does not use heat to isolate the flavour and fragrance components.

Natural ‘megatrend’​

Symrise said that the intense flavours of its concentrated oils are in line with “the megatrend toward naturalness”​ as well as consumer demands for authentic fruit flavours.

‘Natural’ is the leading claim on new product labels according to the Mintel Global New Products Database, which shows that the claim was included on 23 percent of foods and beverages launched last year.