According to a study, about 65% of the population has reduced lactose digestion. This means a majority of people cannot consume most dairy products. However, it’s also true that a major subset of this population would love to consume alternatives that taste like dairy, albeit without the consequences. This signifies there’s a huge untapped market with an unlimited potential waiting to be explored. Lactose-free is the new black. The need for lactose-free products has driven demand for enzymes in food technology.
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Why Enzyme?
In the current scenario, the most common and economical method for lactose removal is enzymatic hydrolysis.
Not only this, but enzymes also play an important role in cheesemaking and its quality. Yogurt is another example.
The application of enzymes in food technology is not limited to dairy. They are also used to produce diverse products, such as syrup, bread, and pizza, and to enhance their quality.
Industry Supply Chain
Most of the time, these enzymes are supplied to the dairy processor by an ingredient manufacturer. So the dairy processor generally has less control over the efficiency and function of the enzymes they use. Most of the time, they go with the first and most advertised option for their products. These enzymes might or might not address the same issues dairy processors face at the production level. Or simply, their R&D goals might not coincide with those of the ingredient manufacturers.
A dairy processor might plan a product based on certain enzyme properties only to discover that those properties are not yet available in the market. For example, some dairy processors might want to develop a product that requires high-temperature processing. But because enzymes are less active at higher temperatures, such a product might not be feasible.
But what if we can get our hands on not just the current possible options but also on what the future developments have to offer?
Will the scenario be any different then?
Well, this article aims to shed light on the possible pathway in this case. Instead of planning based only on the enzymes available on the market, we can look into research to see which enzymes manufacturers plan to introduce next in their products. We will highlight a few examples of such developments here. This could indicate the partners/suppliers that might be available for an early mover advantage.
Before we move to the examples, here’s a thing or two to keep in mind. Two factors that strongly affect enzymatic action are temperature and pH. Enzymes are usually most active within an optimal temperature range of 25-50 °C. The activity drops if the temperature increases beyond optimum, stopping altogether somewhere between 50 and 120 C. At these temperatures, the enzymes are more or less destroyed (become inactive).
Let’s see multiple innovations in enzymes in food technology.
Innovation 1: High-Temperature Enzymes
In this category, the first innovation is from DSM, which is known for its expertise in this area. Now they have filed a patent EP3435772A1. This patent describes a lactase composition that can be used at higher temperatures without the side activities destabilizing (processing of) the dairy product. Further, this composition has reduced arylsulfatase, invertase, lipase, and/or amylase activity, thereby producing dairy products with improved taste and/or shelf-life.
Not only DSM, but Dupont is also exploring these dimensions. Their recent filing, WO2020176734A1, comprises a lactase composition for reducing lactose at high temperatures. They achieved a 70% reduction in lactose at ≥ 50° C, using this composition.
Innovation II – PH Change resistance enzyme
PH changes negatively impact the enzymes. For example, most Lactase enzymes work optimally at pH 6.0 (37°C). In current technology, a slight variation can cause performance issues for enzymes.
For this Chr. Hansen seems to have a solution. In their recently filed patent application WO2020079116A1, they claimed to have identified beta-galactosidases with unique properties. In particular, these beta-galactosidases are very stable with relatively high activity at low pH values. This enables the use of beta-galactosidases at specific pH values (below 5) and temperatures previously thought to be impossible. This can give dairy processors the freedom to create unique lactose-free products.
Innovation III – Reducing Maillard reaction in foods
The Maillard reaction is a chemical reaction between amino acids and reducing sugars that gives food a brown color and a distinctive flavor. In excess, the Maillard reaction often leads to undesirable side effects, resulting in nutritional and taste losses. This is a prominent problem in the pizza industry, where a relatively high concentration of galactose can lead to excessive “browning” during cheese heating. To this, CHR. Hansen has another solution. In the patent application BR112020010971A2, a cellobiose oxidase composition is claimed that can significantly reduce the Maillard reaction and browning. This could be a solution to the pizza industry’s problems.
Innovation IV – Formulation for producing galacto-oligosaccharides
Galacto-oligosaccharides (GOS) fibers are made up of plant sugars linked in chains. They are found naturally in dairy products, beans, and certain root vegetables. People use galacto-oligosaccharides as prebiotics. Prebiotics act as food for “good” bacteria in the intestine. Due to the recent focus on healthy eating trends, GOS is likely to be at the top of this list. So here is a well-placed opportunity.
But the technology available so far seems less efficient and yields very low levels of galactooligosaccharides.
For this, Novozyme has something new. In their recent patent application, US20200232004A1, they have new polypeptide compositions with beta-galactosidase activity. Novozyme suggests that these polypeptides are modified by glycation of lysine and/or arginine residues by incubating the enzyme with reducing sugars, optionally combined with heat treatment. This glycation resulted in improved transgalactosylating activity of the polypeptide, which helps in increasing production.
On a similar line, Dupont also developed a new development, US20200123519A1, for efficiently producing GOS products.
These innovations can overcome the limitations of traditional enzymes in food technology and bolster the GOS trend.
Innovation V – Removing the Problem of Foaming
Phospholipases are used in milk processing to retain the product’s fat content. This helps increase the product’s yield. This is a beneficial treatment because phospholipases A or B form lysophospholipids, which improve the emulsifying properties of the resulting milk composition. However, the presence of lysophospholipids will hamper other functional properties such as foaming and gelation, and may lead to lipid oxidation in the milk. It also affects the product’s taste. To curb these problems, DSM developed a new enzyme (US20180168175A1) that contains phospholipase C activity.
Increased yield and optimal product quality are the two most important benefits of this innovation.
Innovation VI – Problem of Solubility in Plant Protein
Plant protein seems to be another emerging trend. But plant proteins have limited use in food because their solubility is usually low, indicating poor functional properties. To compete with traditional sources, the solubility of plant proteins needs to be improved. One of the methods is proteolysis. However, this can lead to the destruction of other functional properties, such as gelling, emulsification, or sensory (taste) attributes.
For this particular problem, DSM might have a solution. They have claimed, in patent application EP3322305B, an enzyme, peptidyl arginine deiminase, for improving the solubility of plant protein. This composition can improve the positioning of plant protein and might soon be available from DSM.
Conclusion
These were a few examples highlighting the work being done by companies like DuPont, Novozymes, etc. Enzymes in food technology are actively under research, and numerous insights remain to be discovered. This type of analytics can help design new products early, so that when these developments reach the market, your product is the first to use them.
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