A&B Ingredients introduces natural antimicrobial ingredient

By Caroline Scott-Thomas

- Last updated on GMT

Related tags Bacteria Nutrition

A&B Ingredients introduces natural antimicrobial ingredient
A&B Ingredients has introduced a new natural antimicrobial ingredient, which it claims is effective against a wide range of foodborne contaminants in ready-to-eat meat products, refrigerated foods and prepared salads.

CytoGuard LA is a clear liquid based on lauric arginate, a derivate of lauric acid, L-arginine and ethanol, designed to be particularly effective when used in meat and poultry products. It is stable up to one year, stable to heating and freezing, and because it is used at low levels, does not influence the sensory attributes of a product, the company said.

Managing director at A&B Ingredients Gil Bakal said that the ingredient works by altering the cell membranes of microbes and preventing their growth – thereby significantly reducing bacterial levels. He said that it is not affected by pH – and is stable in pH ranges 3-9 – and words on nearly all bacteria.

"It is particularly effective against listeria, salmonella, E. Coli, campylobacter, yeast, molds and lactobacillus, just to name a few,"​ he said.

For meat products, the ingredient is most effective if applied by a patent-pending process, A&B Ingredients said, which involves introducing it into the vacuum packaging as the product is inserted or just beforehand, taking advantage of the force of the vacuum for dispersal.

Bakal said that the ingredient has also been proven a safe alternative to conventional processing treatments.

"Full toxicology studies and research have been conducted on the active component in CytoGuard LA and were found to be a non-toxic compound. The active compound in CytoGuard LA is metabolized by the body very rapidly and broken down into its natural building block components,”​ he said.

New Jersey-based A&B Ingredients calls its patent-pending dispersal method SLICT, or Spayed Lethality in Container Technology.

As part of a general shift toward 'natural' foods and ingredients, increasing numbers of consumers are rejecting foods that contain synthetic preservatives. However, even as manufacturers have followed suit, with many choosing to cut synthetic ingredients from formulations, food safety remains a top priority, creating challenges for food ingredient firms to provide solutions that meet both natural and food safety criteria.

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