Baking powder

Description of product

Baking powder is a mixture of various components. During the preparation of dough and during the baking process itself, carbon dioxide is formed. The gas bubbles loosen the dough and provide the necessary increase in volume. Basic components are as follows:

• a component that may break down to release carbon dioxide: mostly sodium hydrocarbonate, also known as natron.
• acids or an acidic salt that can release carbon dioxide, e.g. citric acid, tartaric acid or cream of tartar, but also inorganic compounds such as sodium hydrophogen phosphates.
• releasing agents (for example, for the removal of goods from baking moulds) made from starch from maize, potatoes, wheat or tapioca, cereal flour or calcium carbonate (up to 30 per cent).

Possible application of gene technology

Applications of gene technology are possible in the following ingredients that commonly are found in baking powder. However, the extent to which a particular product is affected by these possibilities cannot be stated with certainty:

• releasing agent starch, when it is derived from maize. In the USA, transgenic maize already is grown on a large scale. It also is present on a small scale since 1998 in Spain and Germany.
• acidifier citric acid
• acidity regulator glucono delta-lactone