A nutritional bridge: Bunge Loders Croklaan lipid and lecithin expertise shines through in applications

15 May 2019 --- Bunge Loders Croklaan is identifying opportunities for new nutritional synergies, derived from the combination of its expertise in both lipids and lecithin. This interaction may lead to potential innovations in food and nutritional applications. “Our expertise provides a bridge between the emulsifying and nutritional properties of lecithin. The same lecithin you can use for food applications that require oil and water, you can also use in nutraceutical applications,” Roberto Bellomo, Sales Manager EMEA, Lecithin & Specialties for Bunge Loders Croklaan (BLC), told NutritionInsight at Vitafoods 2019 in Geneva, Switzerland, last week.

The company is increasingly targeting nutraceutical platforms for its business and highlights its integrated supply chain, which allows for a high-purity product portfolio, suitable for nutraceutical applications. The core ingredient marketed is lecithin derived from soy, sunflower or rapeseed oil. As consumer demands for non-GMO and allergen-free ingredients intensify, Bellomo believes that sunflower and rapeseed-derived lecithin will prove to be a popular solution in this space.

Last year, Bunge Limited acquired 70 percent of Loders Croklaan from IOI Corporation Berhad. The move was marketed as establishing Bunge as the leading company in business-to-business oil solutions and added to its capabilities, reach and scale across core geographies. Having Loders Croklaan onboard allowed Bunge to provide a comprehensive customer offering, from key products to specialties, for B2B customers in the food processing, industrial and artisanal bakery, confectionery, human nutrition and food service segments.

An integrated supply chain boosts ingredient quality
According to Bellomo, Bunge’s 200 years of experience in agri-business has brought the company to its leading position in the market. This was further achieved through its fully integrated supply chain, to support customer demands and the customer directly with quality, in every application available in the market. 

“What we are now doing at BLC, is offering a proper guarantee of full traceability around all the managing aspects. We are sure to guarantee the full process from the seed to the finished product,” Bellomo highlights.

Roberto Bellomo, Sales Manager EMEA, Lecithin & Specialties for Bunge Loders CroklaanExplaining the process from production to market, he explains that it all begins with the seed producers, who are transforming the seeds into protein and oil. Following this, the oils need to be processed, degummed with water – which is the case with crude lecithin – and most importantly, standardized. Standardization is the last step which makes the products suitable to then be released in the B2B market.

Lecithin for nutraceuticals?
The company is focused on further expanding its lipids and phospholipids expertise with increased attention on lecithin. “It is a significant part of our business because it is complementary to the lipids business,” Bellomo says.

“One of our advantages is that our lipid expertise can combine our experience in phospholipids in order to have a full marriage and a solution of two elements and use them in the food industry for food and nutrition,” he explains.

Lecithin is basically a mixture of polar and nonpolar lipids matter that also offers emulsifying properties, according to Bellomo. This is done by the properties inside the phospholipid contents and the fatty acids. These emulsifying properties are important in food applications. The same source of lecithin, however, can prove useful when it comes to applications in nutritional supplements and innovative foods that offer nutritional value or even health properties. 

The company, therefore, provides a link between the emulsifying and nutritional properties of lecithin to be used in both food applications and even medicine, Bellomo says. 

“Historically, lecithin has been used in food supplements to support reduction of cholesterol levels, however European Food Safety Authority (EFSA)- only approved properties, such as liver health, for example, and cognitive function. Of course, one quality grade is for food and one quality grade is for supplement use, there is a differentiation there. For medicinal applications, it needs to be a little bit more purified than the food grade, but it is the same matrix,” he explains.  

Bellomo also notes that food quality grade for lecithin has to be guaranteed for some food cultures to make sure that potentially harmful bacteria are negated, such as salmonella and Enterobacteriaceae. 

New research findings are in the pipeline. “We have an innovation center in Budapest and they have been carrying out research and working on this ingredient for the last nine years. In the fall of 2019, we will finish a big study regarding the interaction of three botanical sources, rapeseed, sunflower and soy, according to their functionality in different applications,” he says.

On the technical side, Bellomo explains that there are differences in the phospholipids content and fatty acids between rapeseed, sunflower and soy-derived lipids. When it comes to applications, as an emulsifier or as a nutritional supplement there are important differences between them, he says. For example, for cholesterol treatment, soy lecithin is known to raise the bioavailability of choline, for which it requires 9g of lecithin.

Biscuit application for lecithin presented by the company at Vitafoods 2019, Geneva, Switzerland.“Our study seeks to understand what is, from a nutritional aspect, the bioavailability and for the food part what is the dosage for each food application. Depending the source of the lecithin, the dosage in the recipe will vary: There is a certain dosage of rapeseed in bakery applications and a lower dosage of soybean in bakery as well, both with the same functionality,” Bellomo notes.

“There are plenty of solutions not only on the nutritional part but also on the technological part. For example, since lecithin interacts with the lipids  and the water in the recipe, it is available to create liposomas which can be used for the encapsulation of active ingredients in a natural way,” he says.

Allergen-free and non-GMO claims
There are plenty of ways to use lecithin today and adapt its functions according to customer demands, Bellomo notes. One aspect is that in every application, from food to nutritional supplements, allergens remain a crucial focus point for consumers.

“Today the main lecithin in the market comes from a potential allergen source, in this case, soy. Sunflower derived lecithin doesn’t contain allergens and also its DNA doesn’t contain any GMO protein. It’s a combination of allergen-free and non-GMO claims that the market seeks. In this market, sunflower and rapeseed are allergen free and by nature, non-GMO lecithin sources,” Bellomo concludes.

Previously the company offered its entire palm oil food portfolio with low 3-MCPDE levels, in addition to its already available low glycidyl esters (GE) portfolio, as well as launching a next-generation, liquid margarine, coined Delica Pro Gold. 

By Kristiana Lalou with additional reporting from Robin Wyers