Aim: Develop a suitable antioxidant for use in oils, bakery, cereals and snack applications and test the efficacy in a high-fat butter cookie prone to oxidation.
Concept: Formulate a combination of antioxidants that provide sufficient oxidation inhibition on two levels – oxygen scavenger + free radical scavenger. The formulation should provide efficacy against a synthetic antioxidant compound TBHQ. This will provide a basis whereby food manufacturers can remove the use of synthetic antioxidants and switch to a more label-friendly solution.
Ingredient selection: Natural rosemary extract contains carnosic acid (a prominent natural free radical scavenger) + Ascorbic acid (a known oxygen scavenger as well as being used in bakery products as a flour improver to enhance rising of doughs).
Testing method: Rancidity testing was performed on FPS019779A – BAKE PROTECT CA to show the efficacy against a known synthetic product TBHQ. The testing was performed in an application to represent efficacy in real-world usage. A high butter cookie was selected due to the high-fat content being prone to oxidation, especially in warmer climates with humidity. Samples were made as follows:
Control: Butter cookie containing no AO.
Sample 1: Butter cookie containing 0.01% TBHQ (a real-world dosage due to restrictions on TBHQ usage max dosage is 0.02% (EU)).
Sample 2: Butter cookie + 0.1% FPS019779A.
All samples were ground using a pestle and mortar to provide a larger surface area prone to oxidation, and 3g of each were placed into the rancimat, which was run at 160°C.
Results: Control sample showed a stability time of 1.43 hours. Sample 1 showed a stability time of 1.45 hours. Sample 2 showed a stability time of 1.5 hours.
Conclusion: Sample 2 outperformed Sample 1; this shows that when FPS018779A is dosed @ 0.1%, it is more effective than TBHQ dosed at 0.01% in a high-fat bakery application. The antioxidant will work well in oil and fat-based bakery applications such as biscuits, pastries, cakes and snacks.
Further work to consider: Duplicate accelerated rancidity testing to provide shelf-life estimates for comparison.
