It is impossible to imagine a modern food industry without additives today. Product packaging usually contains composition information. And it’s good if only the words “flour, sugar, butter ...” are familiar to us. But most often, the presence of obscure terms is puzzling. How to figure it out?
What is the letter "E"?
There are a great many additives. Each refers to a specific hazard class. Here are some examples:
- Doctoral or milk sausage attracts many with its uniform pink color. The appetizing shade is attached not to the meat in its composition, but to the nutritional supplement sodium nitrite E250.
- Bread or any other pastries will not be magnificent with an air crumb for several days in a row, if you do not add a water-retaining agent (glycerin E422, sorbitol E420).
- Soup is more flavorful than that prepared on a broth with a cube of "Maggie", probably not in the world. The reason is the well-known taste enhancer monosodium glutamate E621. It can be found in many spicy, savory foods.
- Sea kale, smoked fish, some cheeses and much more can please you with long storage, if you could not do without preservatives (sodium benzoate E211, sorbic acid E200).
Flavors, anti-caking agents, disintegrants, emulsifiers and more. Each additive according to international standards is assigned a specific number following the letter "E". Not all supplements that are banned in Europe or the world are taboo for us. Therefore, you need to be careful when choosing food.
And to add density ...
Let us dwell on a substance such as dextrin, denoted by the abbreviation E1400. This is a dietary supplement in the class of thickeners. If we consider what dextrin is from a chemical point of view, it is a low molecular weight carbohydrate formed during the hydrolysis of dextrose or glycogen. Or it is obtained by heat treatment of corn or wheat starch.
As a result, a yellow, brown, or white powdery substance is synthesized.
Dextrin Properties
Let us dwell on the properties of this substance:
- Well soluble dextrin can form non-viscous solutions.
- It has the ability to remove radionuclides (harmful radioactive substances) from the human body.
- Security. It has a low hazard class and does not have an adverse effect on the body, because it is a starch processing product.
- Benefit. The positive effect of the use of dextrin due to its digestibility is proved. It can sometimes be used as a separate chemical compound in the form of a source of fiber.
- A wide range of applications. Knowing what dextrin is, this substance is widely used not only in the food industry. It is used in printing, textile, foundry, glass production due to its excellent adhesive properties.
Types of Dextrin
There are several classifications of this substance. To better understand what dextrin is, consider the main types.
Division by production method (catalysts are indicated in parentheses):
- acidic (acid);
- saline (salts of strong and weak acids);
- alum (aluminum-potassium alum);
- alkaline (alkali).
Color Classification:
- yellow - formed by heating of dry starch;
- white - obtained by splitting wet starch;
Division by type of raw material:
Production technology
Wheat dextrin is produced in much the same way as corn. What is the difference? The difference is that corn starch is originally a starch-containing raw material, and wheat flour still needs to be crushed to such a state. And that is not all. Soluble wheat dextrin in the manufacture of the product mixes faster than corn. They also differ in the concentration of free glucose in the composition of the finished dishes.
What is the basis of technology? Dry enzyme preparation Amilosubtilin is added to dry starch (or flour obtained by grinding grain) and this mixture is fed to a disintegrator, the blades of which can rotate at a speed of 3000 rpm. As soon as a homogeneous mass is obtained, water is added to it. Next, the composition is heated to 80 - 85 ° C (while constantly and intensively stirring). Then follows an extract of the obtained substance for 15 minutes. Then it is boiled for 5 minutes and cooled.
The resulting product can be saccharified to the state of starch molasses of the desired composition for ease of use by the end user (bakers, confectioners, etc.)
E1400 - scope in the food industry
What is dextrin, what happens and how to get it, we examined.
In what foods is it present and what properties does it give them?
White dextrin is used for baking bakery products, is part of food mixtures, coatings, glazes. E1400 improves the properties of flour, which makes it an indispensable food supplement in the baking industry: golden crisp and longer shelf life of bread.
Iris, caramel and other products of the confectionery industry are not complete without dextrin. You can find this food supplement even in baby food and mixtures, in wine and even beer. It is added because dextrin contains substances in the composition that cause fermentation.
It is also added to cheeses and cottage cheese, canned fish, soups and sauces, marmalade, yoghurts, chewing gum.
Not all dextrins are safe, like the E1400. Not all food additives starting with the letter “E” are harmful. Therefore, it is very important to understand this issue. You learned what dextrin E1400 is. And now you can not be afraid to buy the product in which it is indicated.