ENZYMES IN FOOD PROCESSING

Enzymes have been applied in food processing for millennia, and today they are enabling
various food industries to provide the quality and stability of its products, with increased
production efficiency.
They also provide environmental friendly products to consumers that were manufactured,
reducing consumption in energy, water and raw materials - and generating less waste.
Enzymes are very useful catalysts in industrial processes: they perform specific reactions
essential for the production process but have no technological function in the final food
while ensuring the quality of the end product.

Enzymes Processing aids:

Food enzymes are mainly used as processing aids (>99% of the cases):
Enzymes are intentionally added to perform a function during the processing of raw materials,
ingredients or food. But they have no technological function in the final food.

Industrial enzymes share the same properties as the enzymes naturally found in food raw
materials. In most cases the added enzymes merely accelerate the processes that already
occurs naturally by the endogenous enzymes - and only small quantities are needed to perform
the function.

Food enzymes are used to improve a great variety of food production processes - from protein
and starch processing - to processing of raw materials for alcohol fermentation and dairy.

BAKING:
Enzymes have played a key role in baking ever since humans learned how to make bread.
Enzymes are naturally present in cereal grains and, hence, also in flour. Amongst other things,
they facilitate the handling and fermentation of the dough.
Dough
Due to natural changes in the harvest, flour composition varies and so does the level of
endogenous enzymes. Therefore, exogenous enzymes are added during processing to
standardize flour content.

Food enzymes are invaluable processing aids for the baked goods industry (buns and bread,
cakes, biscuits, snacks, pasta), delivering many benefits to the food processors in terms of
production process improvement and consistent high product quality. Bakery enzymes are
inactivated during the baking itself, after they have done their job in the baked goods

STARCH PROCESSING:

Starch is widely used for the production of glucose, maltose, high fructose and other syrups,
which are used in multiple food processing sectors. Starch itself is also used as an ingredient in
various food processes, such as baking and alcohol production.
Wheat and other cereals are important sources of starch. These are highly complex raw
materials causing technical difficulties during processing. Enzymes help to facilitate this process
in a number of ways.

During starch processing, enzymes help to separate raw milled cereals into polysaccharides,
gluten and fibers.
Enzymes are also used to further break down the long chains of sugars (polysaccharides) into
multiple sugars (e.g. glucose, fructose, sucrose, maltose, maltotriose, raffinose).
Benefits for the starch processors:
- Efficient and better starch conversion into valuable products: glucose, maltose, high fructose
and other syrups
- Increased capacity utilization during conversion, due to rapid viscosity reduction and low
fouling frequency of process equipment such as evaporators
- Improved starch purity due to greater extraction yield from raw materials, and efficient
removal of fibers and proteins
- Energy savings due to less use of process water, lower evaporator costs and decreased
production time.

FRUIT AND VEGETABLE PROCESSING:

Processing of raw fruit and vegetables is a very delicate, energy and time-consuming process.
Enzymes help to optimize fruit and vegetable processing in many ways. Enzymes break down
specific components within fruit & vegetables such as pectin, starch, proteins and cellulose
which results in increased yields, shortening of processing time and improving sensory
characteristics.

Some examples:
Pectinases and Cellulases are used to break down cell walls in fruit and vegetables, resulting in
improved extraction and increase in yield. They can also be used to decrease the viscosity of
purees or nectars, and to provide cloud stability and texture in juices.

DAIRY PRODUCTION:
Food enzymes provide many benefits to the dairy industry. They can prolong the resilience in
cheese, remove liquid milk and reduce whey bitterness.

BREWING:

Today, industrial brewers produce beer in pretty much the same way as it has always been
done, although on a truly industrial scale. But large-scale beer production is dependent on a
number of factors outside their influence. Harvests may fail, the properties of the raw materials
may vary (especially in geographies where it is more sustainable to use local raw materials, like
sorghum in Africa), and still the end product must always be the same. Therefore, brewers are
looking at ways to improve their production processes in order to minimize the element of
uncertainty and maximize the output of beer.
Food enzymes aid brewers in cutting down production time and cost while still delivering the
quality product that consumers have come to expect. Such enzymes are specifically selected to
perform highly specific tasks and improve the overall effectiveness of the process.