From crystal clear beverages to translucent confectionery, it's what consumers don't see—opaqueness or cloudiness—that draws them.

“A number of beverages introduced in 2001, such as Ocean Spray's white cranberry juice, SoBe's Adrenaline Rush and Mountain Dew's Code Red, stand out, in part, due to their clarity,” says Lynn Dornblaser, editorial director, USA, of Mintel's Global New Product Database.

As preferable as clearness can be, a formulation challenge arises when aqueous-based products are fortified with fat-soluble vitamins. Emulsification creates turbidity and potential stability problems.

One answer arrives in the shape of an award-winning vitamin market form by Roche Vitamins Inc., Parsippany, N.J. The ingredient, Vitamin E 15% CC (standing for crystal clear), is a powdered ingredient manufactured through a patented process.

The Technical Challenge

Fat- or lipid-based ingredients in the form of an oil-in-water emulsion are lighter than water. Over time, they may separate from solution and float to the top, causing ringing or creaming. If the beverage emulsion breaks, oiling-off occurs, notes Chyi-Cheng Chen, Ph. D, Roche Vitamins Ltd., Basel, Switzerland.

The stability of a beverage emulsion can be increased through several tactics: by decreasing density differences through use of weighting agents, increasing product viscosity by use of thickeners, or by decreasing particle size, says Chen.

Weighting agents such as brominated vegetable oil, ester gum and sucrose acetate isobutyrate increase the density of vitamin E to more closely match that of water; however, cost and regulations may become a factor. Increasing viscosity is often not an option, since the resulting change in texture is not desirable in many products. Particle size reduction avoids these issues and provides a partial solution.

Coalescence of emulsion particles also can lead to ringing. Microcapsulation of the these particles with a neutral or charged polymer, which hinders coalescence partially due to a steric effect, helps alleviate the problem.

Another option, vitamin E mixed with surfactants in a liquid form—although useful in some applications—can have stability, sensory and regulatory issues under certain conditions.

Your Final Answer

Roche now offers formulators Vitamin E 15% CC, which avoids these concerns. By using particle size reduction and polymeric steric stabilization, a 100nm (nanometer) in diameter ingredient that eliminates stability and turbidity issues has been developed.

The ingredient consists of a 70nm vitamin E core microencapsulated in a strong membrane of starch molecules estimated 15nm in thickness. The water soluble starch molecules have a hydrophobic side chain attached to, on average, one in about every 50 glucose units. This makes it function as a surfactant. The product imparts little taste.

This “conventional” emulsion makes for systems that are stable to heat. Additionally, the ingredient is compatible in fruit juices with polyphenols, is cold water dispersible, and contains no gelatin, ingredients from GMO sources, or any of the eight most common allergens. It is also OU kosher certified and is free-flowing with limited dust residue.

Dry Vitamin E % 15 CC offers a crystal clear solution in the fortification of translucent products.

For more information:
Robert C. Bailey, marketing manager, at 973-257-8552 robert_c.bailey@roche.com or Dr. Leonard Johnson, director of food technical services, at 908-475-7040 johnson.leonard@roche.com Roche Vitamins Write in 216