Food processing, tailoring enzyme

SPRADLIN Tailoring Enzyme Systems for Food Processing... 

The factors to be considered in tailoring enzymes for the food industry can be divided into five areas a) sensitivity to processing conditions b) catalytic specificity or action profile c) purity d) source and e) application economics. 

Biocatalysts Ltd. is an independent company that since 1980 has been devoted to the manufacture and sales enzymes. Since it is not part of a larger chemical, food ingredients or pharmaceutical company, instead of producing large volumes of commodity enzymes, it produces enzymes tailored to customer needs. Their services include working together with customers to industrialize their processes or to produce specific required enzymes. Usually, these customer sectors do not require single enzyme entities, but enzyme complexes where the ratios of each of the components are crucial to the efficacy of the whole enzyme-biocatalyst product and to the customer s process. Fermentation requirements for the manufacture of enzyme products are sub-contracted out. 

Enzymes have long been used for modifying food proteins and their use is more acceptable in the eye of the nonscientist than is the use of chemicals. The use of modified enzymes for processing foods is developing rapidly. In each case, the tailored proteins are used for processing purposes and not as... 

The use of enzymes by the food industry as a processing tool is increasing rapidly due to the tailoring of enzyme preparations to fit the processing needs of the industry. The potential of using enzymes for converting agricultural products into food products is enormous, and has minimally been tapped as a method of production. 

Modification of polysaccharides comprises polymerisation, depolymerisation (formation of oligosaccharides) and tailoring (selective adjustment of primary structure) (1). Polysaccharides can be modified chemically or with enzymes. Chemical modification is usually easy and cheap but not very specific. In addition, consumers increasingly dissent from chemically processed food additives. Enzymatic modification is more specific and natural . 

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