Titanium Dioxide Substitutes in Confections
Growing Need for Titanium Dioxide Replacements
Titanium dioxide is an incredibly effective whitening and opacifying agent used in food, beverage, pet, and other applications around the world. Due to its highly concentrated nature as well as its stability under a variety of heat, light, and acidic conditions, titanium dioxide (TiO2) was popular with developers for its simplicity and cost efficiency across applications.
However, as of 2022, this ingredient has been banned by the European Commission in food, beverage, and pet products. Following the announcement of EFSA, countries like Switzerland, Yemen, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Israel followed suit.
Replacing Titanium Dioxide in Confections
Chocolate Decoration
Chocolate decorations are often used in applications like bakery products for cookies or cakes or as a coating for sweets or nuts, just to name a few examples. As white chocolate originally has a yellow shade, developers and bakers often look for a whitening agent like titanium dioxide. For an appealing and homogeneous look, it is important that the titanium dioxide substitute can be evenly distributed in the chocolate.
Titanium Dioxide Substitute for Chocolate Decoration:
KEY FEATURES OF AVALANCHE™ MB IN CHOCOLATE DECORATION:
OPTIMIZED USAGE RATES:
Avalanche™ MB helps to achieve the desired whiteness while keeping the original sensory attributes of white chocolate to meet consumers’ expectations.
HOMOGENEOUS LOOK:
The fine structure of the Avalanche™ MB solutions results in a homogeneous dispersion and look in the final product.Titanium Dioxide Substitute for Chocolate Decoration:
Marzipan
Depending on the type of almond and the amount of almond content, the colour of marzipan can range from a lighter to a darker beige shade. To make marzipan more versatile in usage and suitable as a decoration for bakery items, like cakes, titanium dioxide was often used to lighten and whiten the base. When replacing TiO2, the substitute should not have an impact on the sensory properties while achieving a whitening effect.
Titanium Dioxide Substitute for Marzipan:
KEY FEATURES OF AVALANCHE™ MB IN MARZIPAN:
EXCELLENT SENSORY PERFORMANCE:
When using a whitener in marzipan, the titanium dioxide alternative should not make any change to the texture which could, for example, make it harder to shape and use the marzipan. With the new Avalanche™ MB solution, it is possible to lighten and whiten the almond paste while keeping the excellent sensory experience.
OPTIMIZED USAGE RATES:
Depending on the shade of the base and the desired shade, whitening marzipan might require a higher dosage rate. Using the newest Avalanche™ MB solution allows the manufacturers to reach the desired whiteness while maintaining the textural attributes of marzipan.
Hard Candy
Hard boiled confectionery applications undergo high heat processing temperatures during the boiling process and depending on the order of ingredient addition, colour ingredients may need substantial heat stability to survive. Titanium dioxide offers hard candy formulators a cloudy visual without any taste or texture impacts. A substitute for whitening and opacity in these recipes needs to be highly heat stable with a low usage rate to keep the desired mouthfeel and authentic flavour profile.
Titanium Dioxide Substitute for Hard Candy:
KEY FEATURES OF AVALANCHE™ MB IN HARD CANDY:
HEAT STABILITY
Avalanche™ MB solutions survive the high heat of boiling without fading out.
EXCELLENT SENSORY EXPERIENCE
With Avalanche™ MB solutions hard-boiled candies can offer a great sensory experience, without a gritty or unappealing mouthfeel that other TiO2 alternatives can cause.
OPTIMIZED USAGE RATES
Avalanche™ MB concentrated solutions achieve the necessary cloudy appearance without dramatically shifting formula ratios.
SUITABILITY FOR DIFFERENT ACIDITY LEVELS
The pH of hard-boiled confectionery can differ, some have neutral pH, while others are acidic, requiring a whitening solution that is acid-stable. Avalanche™ MB solutions offer a great opacifying and whitening effect in every case.
Titanium Dioxide Substitute for Hard Candy:
Pan Coated Sweets and Chewing Gums
Whether hard or soft-panned, sugar-shelled confectionery benefits from bright white layers around the centre to provide a clean, consistent base on which to layer additional colours. Titanium dioxide is very effective in panned confectionery due to its high concentration, bright white colour, and low taste and texture impact. Without a whitening layer on top of the centre of the sweet, the outermost layer of colour is often less vivid, because it must overcome the base colour. Titanium dioxide or sugar-free TiO2 replacements can also add whiteness to panned and other confectionery applications where desired.
Titanium Dioxide Substitute for Pan Coated Sweets and Chewing Gums: Avalanche™ Fusion Xtra Solutions
KEY FEATURES OF AVALANCHE™ FUSION XTRA IN HARD CANDY:
OPTIMIZED USAGE RATES
Because these confections are coated in multiple thin layers of sugar syrup, with a relatively low usage rate of the Avalanche™ Fusion Xtra, developers can avoid any negative impact on the process standards or the final consumer experience.
CONSISTENT COVERAGE
Thin layers of sugar are deposited onto each centre over and over during the panning process. Avalanche™ Fusion Xtra enables each layer to be both smooth and consistent to avoid grittiness or irregular coating.
Processing
Considering the potential for adding the solution at a different step in the processing than TiO2 is typically added may greatly increase a developer’s chances of success.
Jelly Gums
In jelly gums, titanium dioxide was used for a whitening or opacifying effect. Not only is white a popular colour, particularly when paired with a colouring, but a whitening agent can also be used to combat yellow or brown notes of different base shades. Additionally, opacity can both brighten a gelatin base for an added colour as well as give the appearance of cloudiness, which connects well to certain claims or flavour profiles, like immunity or fruit juice related concepts.
Titanium Dioxide Substitute for Jelly Gums:
KEY FEATURES OF AVALANCHE™ MB IN JELLY GUMS:
HEAT STABILITY
Avalanche™ MB can be added at any phase of the production as it handles the high heat of the gummy base even when the hot base is mixed and poured into moulds.
SUITABLE FOR MULTI-STEPPED PROCESSING
Jelly gums typically have low to mid-water activity in their final state because most of the water is bound or boiled off during processing. Yet water activity must still be considered. Avalanche™ MB can be added while the formula is still liquid and held in the water phase during production before dosing into the gummy matrix.
MULTI-STEP STABILITY
Avalanche™ MB shows great stability while undergoing several processing steps like mixing, depositing, and cooling.
ACID STABILITY
As most confectionery jellies are fruit flavoured, their pH is usually in the area of 3-4, therefore acid stability is something important to consider. Avalanche™ MB has a minimal impact on the pH, therefore it can be used without creating issues like foaming.
