Sternchemie releases new lecithin innovation

In tune with immune, nutrition hacking, mood food – three of the current Top Ten Trends from Innova Market Insights are related to the major topic of health. Transparency is another factor. The focus is on ethical, ecological and clean label aspects. With its new SternPur S DH 50, Sternchemie brings a lecithin to market that it believes is the perfect fit for these trends. As a hydrolysed, de-oiled sunflower lecithin, Sternchemie says its new offering is an absolute innovation on the market that opens up many new applications.

This new product within the SternPur range is allergen-free, non-GMO and thus the ideal alternative to artificial emulsifiers, according to the company. It has many uses and offers surprising functionality, as Dr Waldemar Buxmann, head of Applications and Technical Product Management, explains: “With this innovation we’re expanding the functional and application scope of lecithin. Currently we’re testing various application areas and are ourselves amazed at the range of possibilities.”

Its enzymatic treatment and effective removal of oils and flavours results in a pure, practically odourless and flavour-neutral lecithin. The easily miscible SternPur S DH 50 powder is reportedly of high purity and quality. It develops its full functionality without impairing the appearance and taste of the final product.

With SternPur, for the first time a label-friendly sunflower lecithin is available that has a high HLB value and outstanding emulsifying properties. This, according to Sternchemie, makes it suitable for making stable oil-in-water emulsions, instead of the artificial emulsifiers or chemically modified lecithins frequently used. The latter are not approved in Europe but are used in food products in the US.

Like all lecithins, SternPur S DH 50 is more than an emulsifier; it is also a stabiliser and release agent, says Sternchemie. In baked goods, it improves dough conditioning and machinability and gives a higher yield by volume. At the same time, through its unique structure it can delay the aging process of baked goods and reduce the use of mono- and diglycerides. In deep-frozen baked goods or in the controlled interruption of fermentation of unbaked dough pieces, this hydrophilic and hydrolysed lecithin prevents the growth of large ice crystals. In this way, the new SternPur stabilises and protects the dough’s yeast cells and gluten network from mechanical damage due to temperature fluctuations.

In fat powders like instant sauces, whole milk, coconut or cocoa powders, this new hydrolysed sunflower lecithin reportedly improves the wetting, sinking and distribution of the powder.

SternPur offers unusual benefits for beverages, especially plant-based milk alternatives. The lysophospholipids in the lecithin interact effectively with the proteins to build complexes, stabilising both emulsions and proteins during pasteurising and storage. These properties are of great interest for the growing plant-based milk alternative category, says Sternchemie.

According to the company, SternPur S DH 50 also has great promise for meal replacement products and nutritional supplements. Thanks to its ability to readily form aggregates – “micelles” – in watery environments, the sunflower lecithin has the potential to improve the digestibility and bioavailability of fat-soluble nutrients.

Depending on the specific applications and processes, with this new hydrolysed, de-oiled SternPur powder and the proven SternPhil liquid Sternchemie could offer the right solution for every requirement. Dr Roland Rabeler, business development manager Sternchemie, notes, “with the liquid solution SternPhil, we can adjust the degree of hydrolysation and so its affinity to water to customer needs, to ensure uninterrupted and reliable processing. The new de-oiled product completes our product range with a highly concentrated and highly functional solution. This offers new possibilities especially for processes that demand powdered ingredients.”

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