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Jean-Luc SIMON: Director of technical research at the Rhodia-Food plant in Melle (79)
INTRODUCTION
Xanthan gum is a heteropolysaccharide synthesized by the bacterium Xanthomonas campestris.
This polymer is marketed essentially as a powder obtained by precipitating the polysaccharide contained in the fermentation wort using a polar organic solvent.
Although its price is relatively high, xanthan gum has many and varied industrial applications, thanks to its exceptional rheological properties. The global market, estimated at over 30,000 t/year, is growing at a steady rate of over 5% a year.
Xanthan gum is used in oil recovery, in the manufacture of cement and mortar for the construction industry, in the cosmetics industry, notably in shampoos and shower gels to facilitate the use of detergents, in the formulation of paints, and more.
But it is in the food industry that the rheological properties of xanthan gum find their main applications. This article reviews them.
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Xanthan gum: viscosifying and stabilizing agent
Structure
Economic data
The world xanthan gum market exceeded 30,000 t in 1998, and is growing at over 5% a year. Xanthan gum is highly developed in the United States and, to a lesser extent, in Europe. Continued growth in the United States, the Americanization of food habits in Europe and innovation in the mass retail sector (detergents, cosmetics, etc.) are the driving forces behind xanthan gum's development.
The food...
Bibliography
Regulations
Xanthan gum is classified as an additive, not as an ingredient, because it cannot be assimilated by humans. It has been approved for use in the food industry since 1969 by the US Food and Drug Administration (21 CFR 172.696).
It is one of the 27 polysaccharides approved by the EEC (Directive 80/597/EEC of 29/05/80, approval since 1974 for xanthan gum), and bears the number E 415.
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Standardization
The only authoritative reference standard in the industry is the Food Chemical Codex, cited in the bibliographic reference.
Main producers (in 2000)
The main producers of xanthan gum are, in descending order of tonnage:
Kelco (Monsanto – USA)
Rhodia (Melle – France)
ADM (USA)
Jungbunzlauer (Austria)
SKW Trotsberg (Germany, formerly SBI France)
Production tonnages for each of these companies are confidential and...
Future prospects
Periodically, manufacturers review the studies already carried out on new polysaccharides, and may select some whose interest had not previously been perceived. Indeed, in the light of new applications (evolving customer needs) or with the progress of studies on structure-function relationships, the screening grids for potential polysaccharides evolve. This screening must be carried out with great rigor, even courage,...
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