Consumers expect a specific quality and eating experience from foods. This is achieved, in part, by the addition of stabilizers, thickeners and gelling agents, which give foods a smooth and consistent texture.
Most of these food additives are derived from natural sources like proteins or starches, but they’re also produced synthetically at lower costs.
Stabilizers, thickeners and gelling agents tend to overlap in functionality to give food the structure, stability and mouthfeel qualities consumers desire.
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Applications in Food
Stabilizers, thickeners and gelling agents are commonly referred to as food hydrocolloid. Most of them are tasteless and odorless. Food hydrocolloids have many important functions including thickening, gelling, emulsifying, stabilization, and other qualities such as controlling crystal growth.
Stabilizers
Stabilizers may work synergistically with emulsifiers to allow food ingredients, that would not otherwise mix well, retain a hom*ogenous dispersion. This increases the stability and viscosity of the food by binding its large molecules. Widely-used stabilizers include agar, carrageenan and pectin, which are used in dairy products, dressings, syrups and mayonnaise.
Thickeners
Thickening agents increase the viscosity of food preparations without affecting other properties like taste. These agents include polysaccharides like starches and gums, or proteins like gelatin. Some thickening agents may also act on the inherent proteins in food. They are commonly used in soups, sauces, gravies and puddings. Thickeners can also be used to reduce the risk of aspiration in the clinical population who have dysphagia, or difficulty swallowing.
Gelling Agents
Gelling agents have the same functionality as stabilizers and thickeners. Examples of these agents include alginate, carrageenan and pectin. The gelling process is affected by the concentration of the gelling agent, pH and temperature of the medium.
Table 1 Source, characteristics and applications of commonly used food hydrocolloids.1
| Ingredient | Source | Purpose | Applications |
| Agar-agar | Algae | Stabilizing, thickening and gelling | Confectionery, bakery products, dairy products, soups and sauces |
| Algiantes | Seaweed | Stabilizing and thickening | Reformed foods such as onion rings and fillings, bakery creams and fruit fillings |
| Carrageenan | Seaweed | Stabilizing | Dairy and meat products |
| Cellulose Derivatives | Plants | Stabilizing and thickening | Dairy and bakery products, beverages, syrups, sauces and soups |
| Gelatin | Animal collagen | Stabilizing and gelling | Confectionary, dairy products and desserts and low-fat spreads |
| Guar gum | Legume | Thickening and gelling | Convenience food, dairy products, soft drinks, bread and pastry and puddings |
| Gum Arabic | Tree exudate | Stabilizing and thickening | Alcoholic beverages, frozen desserts, food dressings and flavorings |
| Gum karaya | Tree exudate | Stabilizing | Icings, confectionary, dressings and sauces, ice creams and baked goods |
| Locust bean gum | Legume | Thickening and gelling | Convenience food, dairy products, soft drinks, bread and pastry and puddings |
| Pectin | Fruit | Stabilizer, thickening and gelling | Fruit-based products, dairy products, confectionery, bakery products and spreads |
| Tragacanth gum | Tree exudate | Stabilizing and thickening | Icings, confectionary, dressings and sauces, ice creams and baked goods |
| Xanthan | Fermented sugar | Stabilizing | Sauces and dressings, baked goods, beverages, desserts and ice creams |
Regulations and Safety
Food additives are legally defined by regulatory agencies in order to impose a premarket approval requirement. In the United States, the definition of food additives excludes those that are generally recognized as safe (GRAS), where approval is not needed.2
Regulatory agencies have the primary legal responsibility for determining the safety of food additives. They identify the types of foods in which they can be used, in what amounts, and how they should be identified on food labels.
As such, food additives undergo rigorous testing and safety assessment to minimize potential adverse effects to human health.
The Bottom Line
Stabilizers, thickeners and gelling agents – often referred to as food hydrocolloids – are widely used in many food formulations to attain the desired mouthfeel and texture.
They are primarily extracted from a natural substance and used as an additive in food products to provide viscosity, stability, suspension and gelation.
Food hydrocolloids are mostly commonly used in bakery and confectionery, dairy and frozen desserts, beverages, meat products, and oils and fats.
The market for particular food hydrocolloids is dependent on demand fluctuations in the end-use applications. As such, the high growth of the bakery and confectionary industry is expected to boost the growth of the global food hydrocolloid market.3
References
- Alan Imeson. Food Stabilizers, Thickeners and Gelling Agents. Wiley-Blackwell; 2009.
- Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. Overview of Food Ingredients, Additives and Colors. International Food Information Council (IFIC) and U.S Food and Drug Administration (FDA); 2010.
- Market Research Future. Emulsifier, Stabilizer and Thickener (EST). Online Travel Market Report – Global Forecast to 2023; 2018.
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