Sternchemie, an international supplier of lecithin for more than 30 years, will present new sunflower lecithins for demanding applications at FIE 2015 in Paris (Stand 6F29).

Other company specialties are red palm oil, which is in high demand as a natural food coloring; as well as coconut milk powder for cold and hot dishes, baked goods and confections. Multi-functional MCT oils made in the company’s own facility in Malaysia round out the product range.

Sunflower lecithins for sensitive applications

Using a specially developed process, Sternchemie has long refined the raw lecithin from sunflower seeds to a greater degree than is usual for normal standardization. By further perfecting the process and using improved raw materials, the company has now succeeded in producing sunflower lecithins that are equivalent to IP soy lecithin in color and flavor. LeciStar S 200 has a light color and a mild, slightly nutty sunflower taste, while LeciStar S 300 is also light in color but virtually neutral in smell and flavor. This makes both lecithins particularly suitable for products that are sensitive in terms of odor and taste, such as white chocolate and milk powder.

In addition to universally usable standardized sunflower lecithins, Sternchemie offers hydrolized lecithin with better oil-in-water emulsifying ability. These easily dispersible lecithin variants are especially useful for making baked goods, margarines and half-fat margarines, and for use as baking fat.

Tailor-made lecithins for baked goods and instant products

In addition to the liquid LeciStar and SternInstant products, Sternchemie offers sunflower lecithins in powdered form, including a de-oiled sunflower lecithin powder with a very high effective ingredient content of over 95%, used in the baked goods industry. For baked goods, bake mixes and ready flours the company offers lecithin compounds on carrier substances like glucose and maltodextrin, as well as to customer order. These offer problem-free processing, and are easier to dose and store than standard lecithin.

For instant foods such as milk and whey protein powder, Sternchemie offers the sprayable sunflower lecithin Sterninstant 450 S. Thanks to the lecithin the powder containing fat or protein can disperse evenly, and dissolves without problems even in cold liquids. SternInstant improves the application properties of instant protein products like sports drinks and diet shakes, as well as coffee whitener and drink powders with cocoa. It is also excellent for instantizing baby food.

Through in-house testing and cooperation with research institutes, Sternchemie determines which lecithins are best for given applications. This specialist knowledge benefits customers, for which the company naturally also develops individual solutions if needed. Sternchemie specialists use applications technological trials to determine how customers can replace IP soy lecithin with sunflower lecithin without altering the characteristics of their products.

FIE visitors can find out about all of the new products from Sternchemie and its sister companies of the Stern-Wywiol Gruppe at booth 6F29.

About Sternchemie

Sternchemie GmbH & Co. KG headquartered in Hamburg, Germany, has been recognized worldwide for more than 30 years as a specialist in lecithin and food lipids. Its product range includes lecithins from IP soy, rapeseed and sunflower seeds, multi-functional MCT oils, vitamin-rich red palm oil and spray-dried coconut milk.

With production facilities in Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, India, Singapore and the US, and an international network of 15 subsidiaries and numerous qualified foreign representatives, the company is represented in the world's key markets. As a member of the independent, owner-operated Stern-Wywiol Gruppe with a total of eleven sister companies, Sternchemie can make use of many synergies.

The company has access to the knowledge of some 70 R&D specialists and to the extensive applications technology of the Group's large Technology Centre in Ahrensburg, Germany. It also benefits from shared production facilities and the group's own logistics resources, so it can offer customers a high degree of flexibility and innovation capabilities. The Stern-Wywiol Gruppe is one of the world's most successful international suppliers of food and feed ingredients.