Source: Milk Powder Think Tank
When mom and dad buy milk powder, they will notice the ingredient list of milk powder cans, but looking at the dense and unfamiliar words will always feel anxious, and even a mother asked the author: "Is there more than 40 kinds of additives in milk powder?" "Today, let's take a look at it."
Milk powder think tank Little Red Book fans
Are there really more than 40 additives in milk powder? Why add these?
Milk powder think tank
The "additives" in milk powder are to be classified into other oh...
What exactly is the "additive" in milk powder?
Most of the ingredient lists of registered infant formula milk powder have more than 40 substances, of which in addition to raw milk, desalted whey, skimmed milk powder, lactose, desalted whey powder, vegetable oil (sunflower oil, soybean oil, coconut oil, walnut oil), whey protein powder, anhydrous cream These 11 are raw materials, and the rest belong to "additives", but it should be noted that there are two types of "additives".
A class of products such as potassium citrate, L-ascorbic acid, choline bitartrate, d-α-tocopheryl acetate, pyridoxine hydrochloride, 5'-monophosphate cytidine, calcium carbonate, D-biotin and other products that sound very much like "chemical preparations" are nutritional enhancers.
In general, the current nutritional enhancers include: 13 microorganisms + 12 minerals + choline + inositol + taurine + L-carnitine + DHA + ARA + prebiotics (galactose oligosaccharides + fructooligosaccharides + fructooligosaccharides + gosamose + polydextrose) + OPO (1,3-dioleic acid 2-palmitate triglyceride) + lutein + nucleotides (sources include the following compounds: 5' monophosphate cytidine, 5' monophosphate uridine, 5' monophosphate adenosine, 5'-inosinate disodium 5'- guanylate , 5'-Disodium uridine, 5'-disodium cytidylate) + lactoferrin + calcium casein peptide + casein phosphopeptide + probiotics.
In addition, we can also see a class of nutritional enhancers that do not belong to the above mentioned in the ingredient list, such as citric acid, phospholipids (soybean phospholipids), vanillin, ethyl vanillin, vanilla bean extract (extract), ascorbyl palmitate, potassium hydroxide, calcium hydroxide, potassium bicarbonate, etc. are all food additives.
Therefore, the "additives" in milk powder are divided into two categories, one is nutritional enhancers, and the other is food additives.
What are the food additives that can be added to milk powder?
When it comes to food additives, many moms are very nervous. Today we will take a look at what food additives are in a plate of milk powder
Emulsifier
Emulsifiers are divided into various types. The first is mono and diglyceride fatty acid esters (oleic acid, linoleic acid, palmitic acid, beemic acid, mono-and diglycerides of fatty acids stearic acid, lauric acid, linolenic acid) and so on. These emulsifiers are all food additives of oils and fats, which are natural substances, so they can be used in the production of milk powder in an appropriate amount according to the production needs, and their content is not strictly specified.
This is followed by phospholipids, which are both antioxidants and emulsifiers, and we can see it in the ingredients.
Phospholipids occur naturally in the cells of all animals and plants. In plants, it is mainly distributed in seeds, nuts and grains. Egg yolks and soybeans are rich in phospholipids, so they can be used in the production of milk powder in an appropriate amount according to production needs, and their content is not strictly specified.
Finally, there is a category of fatty acid glycerides citrate and sodium starch octenyl succinate, which are emulsifiers, but their amount is strictly controlled. Although it is allowed to be added to milk powder, such emulsifiers are rarely seen in milk powder today.
The main reason why emulsifiers are widely present in milk powder is that in the process of milk powder production, it is necessary to evenly disperse the oil, otherwise a bright layer of oil is seen. The addition of emulsifiers to milk powder can significantly reduce the tension of the oil-water two-phase interface, so that the incompatible oil (hydrophobic substances) and water (hydrophilic substances) form a stable emulsion.
Thickener
Thickeners such as guar gum, locust bean gum (also known as locust bean gum), xanthan gum, carrageenan and so on. At present, for thickeners, the national standard strictly stipulates the content of each thickener, but at present, few milk powders will add thickeners.
The main reason why thickeners can be present in milk powder is that the hydrophobic substances in milk powder and hydrophilic substances form a stable emulsification or suspension state, which is basically similar to the emulsifier.
Acidity regulator
Acidity regulators such as citric acid and its sodium salts, potassium salts, calcium hydroxide, potassium hydroxide, lactic acid, potassium carbonate, potassium bicarbonate and the like. Such substances are relatively common food additives in milk powder.
Since the content of acidity regulators in milk powder is very small and belongs to food-grade production, there is no limit to the amount added to milk powder.
The main reasons for the presence of acidity regulators in milk powder are: it can reduce the pH value in milk powder, inhibit the multiplication of spoiled microorganisms, and can also improve the quality and flavor of milk powder.
antioxidant
There is also a class of antioxidants, such as ascorbyl palmitate. At present, the application in milk powder is also relatively extensive.
The main reason for the presence of antioxidants in milk powder is to avoid fat oxidation. The oxidation of fat is a relatively common phenomenon for milk powder, such as the milk powder that has been opened in the can will have a harrah smell after a period of time, which is the taste after fat oxidation, so it is generally based on the ascorbic acid dose in fat.
Flavors and fragrances
Flavors and fragrances that are only allowed in larger infant and toddler formulas include: vanillin, ethyl vanillin, and vanilly bean extract (extract).
Flavors and fragrances are tightly controlled in larger infant and toddler formulas: the maximum use of vanillin, ethyl vanillin and vanilly bean extract (extract) is 5mg/100ml, 5mg/100ml, respectively, and is used in appropriate amounts according to production needs.
The main reason for the existence of flavors and fragrances in milk powder is that it can improve the fishy and fatty and fatty milk in cow and goat milk and its additives themselves, and can make individual smell and taste sensitive babies more likely to accept milk powder and eat with it.
In addition, there are two food additives - calcium dihydrogen phosphate and sodium dihydrogen phosphate. The functions of such substances in food additives are very extensive, such as moisture retention agents, leavening agents, acidity regulators, stabilizers, coagulants, anti-caking agents, etc.
Summary
The above are common food additives in milk powder. For babies, although food additives do not have any nutritional effect on babies. But from another point of view, food additives can improve food quality and color, aroma, taste, as well as antiseptic, preservation and processing technology needs and added to food, such as emulsifiers can make milk powder in a good dissolved state after preparation, otherwise the powder and water are difficult to dissolve, so the overall food additives in milk powder are not terrible, because they are within the national standard requirements.
More than 40 kinds of "additives" in milk powder, do you understand? In fact, most of them are nutritional enhancers, for the baby, nutritional enhancers are to increase the nutritional value of milk powder and meet the baby's growth needs, and there is a category of food additives, which belong to the baby has no nutritional value, but can make the quality of milk powder in the shelf life show a good state.
Today's article ends here, the above food additive content is all derived from China's current "National Standards for Food Safety Food Additives Use Standards" (GB 2760-2014). If you still have questions about how to choose milk powder, you can leave us a comment at the end of the article