Utilization of Synthetic Gums in the Food Industry

Abstract

Publisher Summary This chapter reviews the use of the synthetic gums in foods. It includes the well-established cellulose derivatives and modifications and also investigates the potential utility of newly available nontoxic gums that will eventually find a place on the shelf of the food manufacturer. Although many synthetic polymers have been created over the past few decades, only a few are of interest to the food industry, primarily because of their lack of toxicity. These have been reviewed in this chapter. The important gums in this category are the vinyl polymers: polyvinylpyrollidone (PVP), carboxyvinyl polymer, and poly. In addition to these, other vinyl polymers of widespread industrial applications have only limited potential for food use, because of toxicity or other detrimental features. The more important of these are polyvinyl alcohol, which has found a broad application as a water-soluble packaging film; polyvinylmethyl ether, a heat-sensitive thickening agent; polyacrylic acid and its salts, which have a wide range of hydrophilic properties, including a suggested use of the alkali metal acrylates as an ice cream stabilizer; and polyacrylamides, which are effective cationic thickening agents and coagulants. Another group of synthetic gums that have great potential for food applications are the recently developed Polyox resins, which are extremely high-molecular-weight polymers of ethylene oxide having very desirable nonionic thickening properties, and are nontoxic. The chapter discusses the properties and potential uses of these synthetic gums in the food industry. The discussion is restricted to those that have or may have important applications in foods-PVP, Polyox, Carbopol, and Gantrez An.