Application of Sodium Gluconate in Food Industry

In the food industry, sodium gluconate, as a food additive, can impart sourness to food, enhance the taste of food, prevent protein denaturation, improve undesirable bitterness and astringency, and replace salt to obtain low-sodium, sodium-free food.

At the same time, it is also widely used in nutritional supplements, food preservatives, quality improvers and buffers. According to the different uses of food, it can be divided into the following categories:

1. Sodium gluconate adjusts the acidity of food

Adding acid to food can enhance the safety of food, because acid is the main form of preventing microbial contamination in refrigerated food.

However, adding acid to food or beverage formulations usually reduces palatability because of the higher acidity, which limits the ability of the food industry to make better use of acid as a preservative. Sodium gluconate is formulated into a sodium salt mixture (with chlorine added separately). Sodium and sodium acetate) and then acted on citric acid, lactic acid and malic acid respectively. It was found that the mixture of sodium gluconate had a moderate inhibitory effect on the acidity of citric acid and malic acid (pH 4.4), but had almost no effect on the acidity of lactic acid .

Sodium gluconate adjusts the pH value of citric acid and malic acid, thereby effectively reducing the sour taste and will not produce a salty taste, indicating that sodium gluconate can significantly inhibit the acidity of citric acid and malic acid at a relatively high acid level.

In the food industry, sodium gluconate is widely used in the beverage industry to ensure the quality of the beverage, while also protecting the beverage ingredients from damage caused by the excessively high temperature caused by conventional sterilization methods, and saving energy.

2. Sodium gluconate is used in food industry instead of table salt

Studies have shown that the sodium content of daily salt is four times that of sodium gluconate, and the sodium molecular weight of sodium gluconate is only 10.5%. Compared with the commonly used low-sodium salt, the taste of sodium gluconate is not much different, but it has the advantages of no irritation, no bitterness and astringency, and has become a substitute for salt in practical applications.

At present, it is mainly used in the food industry, such as salt-free products and bread. Research reports that using sodium gluconate instead of salt for bread fermentation can not only ferment low-sodium bread, but also reduce salt without affecting its overall flavor and shelf life.

3. Sodium gluconate improves food flavor

In the food industry, the flavor of food is an important indicator in sensory evaluation. Recent studies have found that sodium gluconate can improve bitterness, and sodium gluconate can inhibit the bitterness of bitter compounds and their binary combination substances to varying degrees.

Different doses of sodium gluconate and zinc lactate were applied to caffeine and found that it can inhibit the bitter taste of caffeine. The above studies indicate that sodium gluconate has a regulatory effect on bitter flavor substances.

In addition, reports have shown that adding a certain amount of sodium gluconate during the processing of meat products can better improve the soy smell in soy products.

Studies have found that in the processing of seafood, a certain amount of sodium gluconate is usually added to reduce the fishy taste and improve the flavor of the food. Compared with the traditional covering method, the cost is lower.

4. Sodium gluconate can improve food quality

Using sodium gluconate as an inhibitor of calcium lactate crystals in cheddar cheese, it was found that sodium gluconate can increase the solubility of calcium lactate and adjust the pH value of cheddar cheese, so sodium gluconate has the potential to increase the solubility of calcium and lactate. By forming soluble complexes with calcium and lactate ions, preventing them from forming calcium lactate crystals, it not only ensures its nutrition, but also improves the quality of cheddar cheese.

Soaking kelp with sodium gluconate can increase its alginate content, resulting in a softer surface and improved taste. Sodium gluconate also has protein denaturation inhibition and myofibril proteolysis. Adding sodium gluconate to surimi, the gel strength of the gel after heating is significantly higher than that without sodium gluconate, so glucose Sodium can improve the quality of surimi products.