Xanthan Gum e415— Is This Food Additive Healthy or Harmful

Xanthan gum e415 is a widely used food additive derived from the fermentation of sugars by the bacterium Xanthomonas campestris. It functions as a thickener, stabilizer, and emulsifier in various food products.

In this blog post, we focus on xanthan gum, highlighting its various applications in the food industry and addressing its safety. We cover its roles as a thickener, stabilizer, and emulsifier, and explain how it enhances the texture and consistency of numerous food products.

What is Xanthan Gum e415?

Xanthan gum, commonly known as corn sugar gum or Hanseng gum, is a complex polysaccharide produced through the fermentation of sugars (glucose, sucrose, lactose) by the bacterium Xanthomonas campestris. Xanthan gum appears as a white or light yellow powder with excellent thickening, suspension, emulsifying, and water solubility properties, along with good stability under heat, acid, and alkali conditions. Consequently, it is extensively used in various foods.

Benefits of Xanthan Gum e415

High Water Solubility: Xanthan gum powder dissolves rapidly in water, even in cold water, simplifying the processing and making it easy to use.

Stability in Alkali Solutions: It dissolves in sodium hydroxide solution and exhibits thickening properties. The resulting solution remains stable at room temperature. Xanthan gum can be degraded by strong oxidizers like perchlorate and persulfate, with degradation accelerating as temperature increases.

Salt Compatibility: Xanthan gum solutions can be mixed with various salt solutions (potassium, sodium, calcium, magnesium, etc.) without affecting their viscosity.

Resistance to Degradation: The stable double-helix structure of xanthan gum provides strong resistance to oxidation and enzymatic degradation, making it resilient to enzymes like proteases, amylases, cellulases, and hemicellulases.

Applications of Xanthan Gum in Food Processing and Recommended Usage

In Beverages: Xanthan gum's hydrophilicity and stability against temperature, pH, and salts allow it to dissolve quickly in aqueous solutions, forming stable gels that increase the viscosity and stability of beverages, improving particle suspension. It is used at 0.1-0.3% in liquid beverages for thickening, suspension, and sensory enhancement, and at 0.1-0.3% in solid beverages to facilitate shaping and enhance mouthfeel. Adding xanthan gum to peanut milk significantly improves its emulsification, with higher xanthan gum concentrations enhancing emulsification further.

In Flour Products: Xanthan gum's strong water absorption ability allows it to form a viscous gel that combines with starch particles and gluten proteins to form a three-dimensional network structure, increasing dough water retention, enhancing gluten strength, and improving dough stability. Typically used at 0.03-0.08% in flour products, it enhances toughness, water retention, and shelf life. Adding xanthan gum to noodles improves the binding of gluten proteins and starch particles, increasing dough tightness. In frozen noodle studies, xanthan gum increases maximum breaking force, and reduces melting enthalpy and frozen water content during storage, preventing gluten membrane damage and enhancing stability. In frozen dumplings or wonton skins, it improves texture, reduces breakage during cooking, and enhances broth consistency.

In Baked Goods: As a polysaccharide with numerous hydroxyl groups, xanthan gum for sale is a hydrophilic colloid that interacts with gluten proteins to form a complex spatial network structure, significantly improving gluten protein water retention and dough strength. This increases water retention, elasticity, softness, and shelf life in baked goods. Typically used at 0.1-0.3% in cakes for increased porosity, softness, and shelf life extension, and at 0.1-0.2% in bread for softness, particularly suitable for whole grain bread. Studies have shown that adding 0.6% xanthan gum to bread improves texture, and production yield, and delays staling. Xanthan gum, combined with guar gum, hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC), and sodium alginate, improves bread quality and anti-staling properties.

In Frozen Desserts: Xanthan gum stabilizes emulsions at -18°C to 100°C, inhibiting water molecule migration, controlling ice crystal growth, and providing ice cream with a smooth texture, good plasticity, shape retention, stickiness, and softness. Typically used at 0.1-0.3% in ice cream for fine texture, no ice crystals, reduced aging time, and fine product texture. Research shows xanthan gum significantly increases soft ice cream overrun, viscosity, and melt resistance, and reduces hardness. Adding xanthan gum emulsifier to yogurt ice cream improves melt resistance, and overrun, and inhibits ice crystal growth.

In Seasonings: Xanthan gum's excellent water solubility allows it to dissolve quickly to form gels with thickening properties. And its strong stability against heat, acids, alkalis, and salts makes it suitable for seasonings. For example, it is used at 0.05-0.1% in soy sauce and oyster sauce to enhance salt tolerance, increase viscosity, and improve sauce coating and adhesion.

Is It Safe to Consume?

Xanthan gum e415 has been evaluated and approved by several major health and safety regulatory agencies worldwide, underscoring its safety for human consumption:

FDA Approval: Xanthan gum is classified as Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS) by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

European Approval: It is approved as a food additive in the European Union under E-number E415.

Global Consensus: Recognized as safe by major food safety authorities, including the FAO and WHO.

The Bottom Line

Xanthan gum E415 is a widely recognized and safe food additive with many applications in the food industry. Approved by leading health authorities, including the FDA, EFSA, and WHO, xanthan gum is valued for its versatility and effectiveness. It is commonly used to enhance the texture, stability, and consistency of various food products.