Gluconic Acid

Description

Gluconic acid is a fruit acid. It accrues during the decomposition of carbohydrates. Various foods such as wine or honey naturally contain gluconic acid.

Gluconic acid

• is used in food as an acidity stabilisor
• possesses good binding ability with regard to calcium and irom ions and thereby supports the effects of antioxidants as well as of gelling and thickening agents

Application:

• in processed fruits and vegetables, fruit preparations/additives
• for the acidification in beverages (e.g. lemonade)
• in desserts
• by creameries and breweries to prevent calcification in the processing of milk and beer

Gluconic acid also plays an important role in the manufacture of the bio-lemonade "Bionade". Through the application of a special process of fermentation, malt starch, malt sugar and water is transformed into gluconic acid instead of alcohol. This weak acid is an alternative to the more common basic industrial ingredient of lemonade. The acid is neutral in taste and enhances sweetness.

Gene technology

Gluconic acid is produced from dextrose (glucose).

The tranformation of glucose to gluconic acid can be achieved with the aid of enzymes (glucose oxidase) or by fermentation with certain moulds.

With glucose, as with all products of starch saccharification, various applications of gene technology are possible.

• Raw material: maize starch may consist partly of genetically modified maize, especially if the raw materials are imported out of the USA or Argentina. In some EU countries, genetically modified maize is grown on comparatively small areas and nonetheless is not used as raw material for foodstuff. This may change in the case that the cultivation of GM maize increases in significance. Ingredients derived from several types of GM maize are approved in the EU.
• Enzymes solubilise plant starch and metabolise it into compounds that are classified as ingredients and additives. Several of these enzymes, such as amylases, glucose-isomerase and pullulanase (used in starch saccharification) are produced with help of GM microorganisms .

Labelling: starch-based additives are subject to a labelling requirement if they are produced from GM plants (e.g. maize). Whether this also applies to gluconic acid that results from starch by way of various processing stages is legally not explicitly clarified. In practice, it has been established that labelling is not applied.

If GM microorganisms (such as moulds) are part of the conversion process, the gluconic acid that is generated in this manner is not subject to a labelling requirement. Additives that are produced in closed systems with help of GM microorganisms are not subject to labelling, provided that the additive in question has been purified and does not contain any microorgansisms.

Enzymes and their manner of production generally are not declared on the list of ingredients.