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Read the articleAUTHORS
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Jean-Luc SIMON: Director of technical research at the Rhodia-Food plant in Melle (79)
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Bernard CERLES: Vice President, Operations and Industrial Technologies, Rhodia-Food
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 enjoying sustained growth of over 5% a year.
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Xanthan gum
Structure
Economic data
The world market for xanthan gum 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...
Bibliography
Regulations
Xanthan gum 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 05/29/80, approval since 1974 for xanthan gum), and bears the number E 415.
The acceptable daily intake (mg · kg -1 body weight...
Standardization
The only authoritative reference standard in the industry is the Food Chemical Codex, cited in the bibliographic reference.
Main producers (in 1999)
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...
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