ANDREA MITAROTONDA
Neal’s Yard Remedies, Research & Innovation, Gillingham, United Kingdom

The product is based on oil-to-milk technology formulated thanks to the use of Sucrose Laurate (HLB approximately 16).

Sucrose Palmitate (HLB approximately 15 – 16) is generally used to increase heat stability of the finished product.

They both belong to the so-called Sugar Esters.

Sucrose fatty acid esters, commonly called sugar esters, are obtained by esterification between the sucrose molecule as a hydrophilic group and fatty acids as a lipophilic group. 

Depending on the fatty acid used and the degree of esterification of the sucrose molecule, a wide range of sugar esters can be obtained with HLB ranging from 1 to 16 and fatty chain length normally ranging from 12 to 22 carbon atoms.

Used alone or in combination, sugar esters are multifunctional ingredients allowing the formulation of interesting formats, such as D-phase gels and High Internal Phase Emulsions (HIPE), both oil-in-water and water-in-oil.

The oil-to-milk technology is based on D-phase gel.

A rich and transparent concentrated emulsion is formulated using a standard emulsification process. This hi ...