7/28/2019 Information on Guar Gum Alternatives

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Hamburg, March 2012

Guar Gum .. is the most common and consumed hydrocolloid in the food industry thanks to favorable

prices over decades and good functionality.

So much for history.... in reality the ever increasing demand for Guar Gum from the oil and gas industry pushes guar

Gum prices to spiraling heights. And since availability is decreasing, food manufacturers are forced to

find alternatives.

One idea frequently expressed definitely has to be abandoned: replacing Guar Gum by one single

magic powder. To find alternatives the properties of guar gum in different applications have to be

evaluated, as only these properties can be copied:

General functionality

cold soluble thickener

creates adhesives / cling and useful synergies

Solubility

cold soluble

tendency for lumping and for creation of pseudo plastic solutions

Stability

mostly heat stable in neutral pH

good freeze-thaw stability

.

Food application alternatives overview:

Fine food:

-thickening agent and stabilizer for dispersions

alternative: xanthan gum or locust bean gum and/or tara gum-thickening agent and stabilizer for emulsions

alternative: xanthan gum, alginate or locust bean gum and/or tara gum

Baked goods:

-thickening agent for viscosity increase in raw dough (e.g. to carry particles)

alternative: CEROBAL fibre blend and/or xanthan gum

-water binding for extended shelf life (e.g. bread, sponge cake)

alternative: Cerobal fibre blend and/or xanthan gum

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Canned food:

-thickening agent and stabilizer for dispersions

alternative: xanthan gum, locust bean gum and/or tara gum

-thickening agent and stabilizer for emulsions

alternative: xanthan or PGA , locust bean gum and/or tara gum

-water binding during sterilization of water separating products

alternative: tara gum and/or xanthan

-processing aid for dull and sensitive products

alternative: CMC in sterilized cans

Meat products:

-water binding agent and processing aid in minced meat

alternative: CEROBAL fibre blend and/or xanthan gum

Dairy products:

-thickening agent and stabilizer for emulsions

alternative: locust bean gum, pectin, carrageenan, Alginate, xanthan (only restricted)

-thickening agent and stabilizer against sedimentationalternatives: tara gum, pectin, carrageenan, CMC

Most alternatives havent been used actually because the price for guar gum was so low to someextent possible alternative products have even been suppressed because Guar Gum was so cheap .But today, with increasing prices due to the incredibly high amount of guar gum needed for the oildrilling industry, and the stagnating supply from India, it seems more convenient to use thealternatives.

For detailed information on this issue please contact our food technologist, Mr. Helmut Focke(HFocke@Roeper.de).