{"id":927,"date":"2022-06-01T08:00:21","date_gmt":"2022-06-01T14:00:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ulprospector.com\/knowledge\/?p=927"},"modified":"2022-06-02T07:28:07","modified_gmt":"2022-06-02T13:28:07","slug":"fbn-natural-antioxidants-shelf-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/927\/fbn-natural-antioxidants-shelf-life\/","title":{"rendered":"Natural Antioxidants for Shelf Life"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"AntioxidantsSM\"Originally published on September 16, 2014 by Jill Frank<\/em>
\nUpdated June 1, 2022 by Jamie Marchetti<\/em><\/p>\n

When Benjamin Franklin said, \u201can ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,\u201d he might as well have been talking about oxidation.<\/p>\n

Cardboard, grassy, paint, metallic and fishy are descriptors you don\u2019t want to hear when consumers call to discuss your food product. With such a low (often less than 1ppm) sensory detection rate and disagreeable flavor profile, oxidation products can drive down sales. Once consumers are unhappy with the flavor of your product, it will take a monumental effort to get repeat sales. Oxidation prevention in fat-containing foods is crucial to maintaining quality over shelf-life.<\/p>\n

Auto-oxidation<\/h4>\n

Food matrixes are complex and difficult to predict when it comes to oxidative stability. Only a small amount of oxygen can set off oxidation in a food system, and once auto-oxidation starts, it continues until the reactions are completed. Oxidation products, aldehydes and ketones, give off flavors and potentially toxic end products. Oxidation can also negatively change food appearance and nutrition; secondary oxidation reactions can result in browning and pigment loss, reduction of vitamins, essential fatty acids and protein quality.<\/p>\n

Conditions that drive oxidation include light, heat, presence of oxygen, presence of metal ions like copper and iron, water activity (either too low or too high), lipoxygenase enzymes, heme proteins, chlorophyll, and time. Products using unsaturated fats, like those as part of the healthful fat trend<\/a>, are also more prone to oxidation. While there isn\u2019t a solution that will prevent oxidation forever, antioxidants are key tools in the battle against oxidation.<\/p>\n

Antioxidants<\/h4>\n

Synthetic antioxidants such as BHA (butylated hydroxyanisole)<\/a>, BHT (butylated hydroxytoluene)<\/a>, TBHQ (tertiary butylhydroquinone)<\/a>, and propyl gallate<\/a> are very effective, easy to add to a variety of food products, and low cost. However, with clean ingredient trends<\/a>, consumers may be looking for more natural-sounding antioxidants.<\/p>\n

Natural antioxidants such as Tocopherols<\/a> like \u0251-tocopherol and Plant Extracts such as rosemary<\/a>, grapeseed<\/a>, green tea<\/a> and citric acid<\/a> are good alternatives to synthetic antioxidants. Most plants naturally contain antioxidants.<\/p>\n

Tocopherols:<\/h4>\n