What Are Emulsifiers?

What are emulsifiers? If you’ve ever enjoyed a creamy salad dressing, a frosty milkshake, or a rich chocolate bar, then you’ve experienced the power of emulsifiers firsthand.

Emulsifiers are substances that allow liquids (like water and oil) that normally don’t mix well to combine into stable emulsions.?These crucial food additives give many everyday foods the texture, consistency and longevity we’ve come to expect.

How Emulsifiers Work

To understand emulsifiers, you first need to understand emulsions.

An emulsion is a mixture of two or more liquids that normally don’t mix well, like oil and water.?No matter how much you stir or whisk them, they’ll eventually separate back into distinct layers.

That’s because the molecules in each liquid are more attracted to each other than the molecules in the other liquid. This property is called immiscibility.

Emulsifiers are substances that help oil and water mix together permanently.?They work by acting as a bridge between the oil and water molecules.

One end of an emulsifier molecule bonds with water, while the other end bonds with oil. This allows emulsifiers to surround tiny droplets of one liquid and evenly disperse them in the other.

For example, in salad dressing the emulsifier lecithin surrounds tiny droplets of oil and evenly distributes them throughout the vinegar. This creates a thick, creamy texture that lasts.

Without an emulsifier, the oil and vinegar would quickly separate, leaving you with a slimy puddle of oil floating on top of the vinegar.

Over 100 different emulsifiers are used in food production. But no matter the source or chemical structure, their job remains the same - to permanently mix liquids that don’t get along.

The Many Roles of Emulsifiers in Processed Foods

While each emulsifier has its nuances, most serve one or more of these key functions:

?Improve Texture:?Emulsifiers like mono- and diglycerides give bread dough more elasticity for better rising. And lecithin helps chocolate set up with that signature smooth, creamy snap.

?Enhance Consistency:?Carrageenan thickens up milk to create creamy chocolate milk that refuses to separate. And microcrystalline cellulose keeps cookie batters from getting too thin.

?Increase Shelf Life:?DATEM (diacetyl tartaric acid) allows bread to stay fresher longer by preventing the starch from recrystallizing. And propylene glycol alginate keeps canned tuna salads smooth and scoopable.

?Aid Processing:?Sodium stearoyl lactylates strengthen dough to withstand high-speed mechanical processing. And azodicarbonamide puts more air into bread dough so it proofsmore efficiently.

Clearly, emulsifiers aren’t just about texture.?From prolonging freshness to streamlining large-scale production, these additives serve many crucial roles behind the scenes.

And while emulsifiers sound very science-y and artificial, some traditional foods rely on natural emulsifiers too. Mustard, honey and egg yolks all contain natural emulsifying agents.

These days, most large-scale food manufacturing depends on lab-made emulsifiers for affordability and consistency though.

The Different Types of Emulsifiers Used in Foods

With over 100 emulsifiers approved for use in foods today, it can get confusing trying to tell one from another. But most fall into one of these five common categories:

Mono- and Diglycerides

Buttery, smooth mono- and diglycerides are among the most ubiquitous food emulsifiers.?Over 90% of bread sold in the U.S. contains these crucial “dough improvers.”

Mono- and diglycerides surround starch granules with a lipid barrier. This prevents the starch from absorbing too much water and making doughs sticky. It also gives yeast breads better rise.

Beyond bread, mono- and diglycerides keep peanut butter smooth and prevent chocolate from turning whitish gray.

Lecithins

Found naturally in egg yolks and soybeans, lecithin is a unique emulsifier made of fatty acids and phospholipids. The phospholipid end readily binds with water while the fatty acids grab onto oil molecules.

Lecithin is what gives chocolate its luxuriously thick, glossy texture. Just a tiny bit of this emulsifier goes a long way. It’s also used prominently in margarine and salad dressings.

Sunflower, rapeseed and marine algae lecithins offer popular plant-based alternatives today.

Esters of Monoglycerides

Esters of monoglycerides contain both emulsifying and antistaling properties. Thanks to these strengths, they’re used extensively in commercial bread, pizza crust, tortillas, cookies and cakes.

By preventing starch retrogradation, esters of monoglycerides keep baked goods from going stale too quickly on grocery store shelves.

Polysorbates

Polysorbates earned the unfortunate nickname “plasticizer of food” thanks to their prolific use in processed food. But their functionality remains unmatched.

These inexpensive synthetic emulsifiers excel at stabilizing emulsions over a wide temperature range, pH range and concentration. They keep ice cream creamy without unwanted crystallization. And prevent oil from floating to the top of jarred mayonnaise.

Polysorbates also help lake food dyes dissolve better in foods and beverages. Mountain Dew’s electric green color is thanks to polysorbates.

Cellulose Gums

Cluster dextrins, methylcellulose and sodium carboxymethyl (CMC) fall under the broad umbrella term “cellulose gums.”

Derived from purified plant fiber, cellulose gums make smooth textures that withstand freezing and thawing.?With amazing water-binding capabilities, these gums give frozen desserts like ice cream a more velvety mouthfeel.

They also help keep cookies chewy, prevent grittiness in puddings and thicken low-fat “light” salad dressings. Plus cellulose gums act as fat mimics in reduced-fat products.

Are Emulsifiers Bad For You?

Walk down any grocery store aisle and you’ll be surrounded by emulsifiers. From mayo to white bread, few processed foods today lack these crucial additives.

But some controversial studies have linked emulsifiers to serious health conditions like inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), metabolic syndrome, food allergies and gut inflammation.

It all started in 2015 when a landmark study made waves by reporting that two common emulsifiers provoked low-grade inflammation and obesity in mice prone to IBD.

Since then, some scientists speculate that overconsumption of emulsifiers over decades could be triggering an uptick of gut problems.

However, the body of research is still extremely limited. And eating lab mice loads of isolated emulsifiers doesn’t necessarily mimic real-world human consumption.

For now, most regulatory agencies still consider emulsifiers “generally recognized as safe” when used according to approved designations. But new studies are emerging every year.

I recommend keeping tabs on new emulsifier research and limiting consumption of highly processed foods whenever possible.?Cooking fresh, whole foods based meals is the best way to avoid excess emulsifiers.

Of course, the realities of modern life make avoiding additives 100% nearly impossible. So just do the best you can and don’t stress too much!

The Future of Food Emulsifiers

Consumers today demand not just tasty, affordable food but nutritious options with clean labels, health benefits and sustainability too.

Big Food is listening. We’re seeing movement towards simpler recipes, fewer ingredients and friendly prebiotic fibers instead of controversial additives. Expect this cleaner label movement to keep gaining steam.

Food emulsifiers themselves are getting makeovers as well. Researchers are hard at work engineering novel “designer” emulsifiers from natural, plant-based sources.

Emerging techniques like high-pressure homogenization (HPH) offer promising new ways for naturally-sourced emulsifiers to mimic popular additives without their downsides.

The future looks bright for food emulsifiers. But until then, gaining a deeper understanding of any additives you eat seems key! I hope this guide gave you some helpful pointers.

Mondstar is dedicated to upholding the highest standards of quality and service. If you are in need of food additives, raw materials, feed additives, or chemicals, Mondstar is the ideal partner to provide you with a seamless procurement experience. Our comprehensive product range includes preservatives, emulsifiers, enzymes, leavening agents, sweeteners, acidity regulators, antioxidants, thickeners, and more.