Enriched arabic gum gains global patent

Japanese food ingredients firmSan-Ei Gen F.F.I., Inc. has been granted a substance patent for its enhanced gum arabic product, SuperGum. The company said that the patent (WO 2004/089991) is registered in the EU, USA, China, Russia, Japan, Australia and the Sudan.

Dr. Takeo Inoue of San-Ei Gen, Japan, said that Super Gum is a natural, clean-label friendly enriched gum, which eliminates performance variations that are common between batches of normal gum arabic.

The new technology, which was developed in collaboration between San-Ei Gen and Phillips Hydrocolloid Research Ltd, UK, is said to produce consistent high performance in terms of shelf life extension of flavour and colour emulsions, even when it is used at lower concentration than conventional gum arabic, and provides increased emulsion stability under stress conditions.

Dr Inoue said that the enriched gum is produced by a proprietary mechanical process that enhances the high molecular weight arabinogalactan protein (AGP) fraction of the gum through redistribution.

“Essentially this technique reproduces the natural process that occurs during the maturation of the trees,” ​he explained.

Growing market?​

Dr Inoue told FoodNavigator that enhanced gum arabic is a growing sector of the emulsifier market, adding that he believed that its natural label status means that enhanced gum arabic has a growing potential in the global market.

Explaining the benefits benefits of an enriched gum, Inoue said that an enriched gum requires lower use than a standard gum arabic, therefore lowering costs.

He added that the technology also helps to eliminate performance variations that are common between different batches of normal gum arabic, whilst improved functionality, means higher emulsion stability and allows for a longer shelf life.

Dr Inoue said that the enriched gum technology can be labelled simply as gum arabic because the product contains no additives or chemical constituents