Bakery Case Studies
NaturalGARD cultured dextrose outperforms competition in bread
The white bread produced here adhered to a classic recipe that included only a handful of ingredients, such as flour, sugar, yeast, butter, salt, and water. Cultured dextrose and calcium propionate were added to the recipe as preservatives. Longer shelf-life is achievable with NaturalGARD cultured dextrose. Beyond natural claim, cultured dextrose is more stable than sorbate and doesn't have the benzene concern associated with benzoate. Please contact us to learn more.
NaturalGARD cultured dextrose outperforms competition in tortilla
The tortilla produced here adhered to a baseline recipe that included only the necessary ingredients, such as flour, sugar, shortening, baking powder, emulsifiers, salt, gum, sorbic acid and water. Cultured dextrose, cultured wheat, or popular calcium propionate combined with sorbic acid were added to the recipe as preservatives. Tortillas were stored in plastic bag at room temperature. Both NaturalGARD cultured dextrose and calcium propionate extended shelf-life over 30 days.
Sweet Bread Roll Shelf-life Extension
American favorite sweet bread roll, purchased on 11/06/2023, best-by date is 11/17/2023. No preservative was found on the label, although it contains quite many artificial ingredients.
Control, nothing added, placed in a Ziploc bag (mold on 11/14/23)
Treatment 1: spray-on with 1% NaturalGARD culture dextrose (pH=6.2), immediately placed in a Ziploc bag (mold on 11/15/23)
Treatment 2: spray-on with 1% NaturalGARD culture dextrose adjusted with vinegar (pH=5.3), immediately placed in a Ziploc bag (picture taken on 11/19/2023, mold on 11/20/23, a gain of shelf-life of 6 days).
Madeleine Shelf-life Extension
Food waste due to poor preservation is a significant issue. Studies indicate that extending the shelf life of products can prevent about 50% of consumer food waste (Kauffman, C. "Reducing Food Waste by Extending Product Life." WRAP UK. March 4, 2015).
We bought American favorite madeleines from a club warehouse retail store on Oct 28 with an expiration date of Nov. 30, 2023, to enjoy over the holiday season. However, we noticed mold appearing on a couple of madeleines on Nov. 12, 2023. To test the efficacy of cultured dextrose to extend the shelf life of madeleines, we randomly picked 8 madeleines without mold and sprayed 1% NaturalGARD cultured dextrose solution on 4 of them, then placed all 8 madeleines in the original container at room temperature. Mold appeared on two of the controls (untreated) on Nov. 14, with all the controls having mold on Nov. 15. In the meantime, all four treated madeleines showed no sign of spoilage until Nov. 24. The experiment is rudimentary, but the gain of shelf-life is significant.
Since most cakes have pH over 6, mold inhibitor coating (spray-on) seems to be a better option than add-in.
Italian Bread
Freshly baked italian bread from a local bakery. Baked on 11/14/2023 with a sell-by date of 11/15/2023. No preservative was found on the label. Contain only one artificial ingredient.
Control: nothing added, three slices were placed in a Ziploc bag.
Treatment 1: spray-on with 1% NaturalGARD culture dextrose (pH=6.2), immediately placed in a Ziploc bag.
Treatment 2: spray-on with 1% NaturalGARD culture dextrose adjusted with vinegar (pH=5.3), air day a few hours to remove excessive water and then placed in a Ziploc bag (gain of 5-day shelf-life).
