Calcium stearoyl-2-lactylate (calcium stearoyl lactylate or CSL) or E482 is a versatile,
FDA approved food additive. It is one type of a commercially available
lactylate. CSL is
non-toxic
Toxicity is the degree to which a chemical substance or a particular mixture of substances can damage an organism. Toxicity can refer to the effect on a whole organism, such as an animal, bacterium, or plant, as well as the effect on a subs ...
,
biodegradable,
and typically manufactured using
biorenewable feedstocks.
Because CSL is a safe and highly effective food additive, it is used in a wide variety of products from
baked goods
Baking is a method of preparing food that uses dry heat, typically in an oven, but can also be done in hot ashes, or on hot stones. The most common baked item is bread but many other types of foods can be baked. Heat is gradually transferred ...
and
desserts to
packaging.
As described by the
Food Chemicals Codex The Food Chemicals Codex (FCC) is a collection of internationally recognized standards for the purity and identity of food ingredients.
Scope
The FCC features more than 1,250 monographs, including food-grade chemicals, processing aids, foods (suc ...
7th edition, CSL is a cream-colored powder.
CSL is currently manufactured by the esterification of
stearic acid and
lactic acid
Lactic acid is an organic acid. It has a molecular formula . It is white in the solid state and it is miscible with water. When in the dissolved state, it forms a colorless solution. Production includes both artificial synthesis as well as nat ...
with partial neutralization using food-grade hydrated lime (
calcium hydroxide). Commercial grade CSL is a mixture of calcium salts of stearoyl lactic acid, with minor proportions of other salts of related acids. The
HLB for CSL is 5.1. It is slightly soluble in hot water. The
pH of a 2% aqueous suspension is approximately 4.7.
Food labeling requirements
To be labeled as CSL for sale within the United States, the product must conform to the specifications detailed in 21 CFR 172.844.
[ In the EU, the product must conform to the specifications detailed in Regulation (EC) No 96/77.] Tests for these specifications can be found in the Food Chemical Codex.[ Acceptance criteria for these two regions are as follows:
To be labeled as CSL for sale in other regions, the product must conform to the specifications detailed in that region's codex.
]
Food applications and maximum use levels
CSL finds widespread application in baked goods
Baking is a method of preparing food that uses dry heat, typically in an oven, but can also be done in hot ashes, or on hot stones. The most common baked item is bread but many other types of foods can be baked. Heat is gradually transferred ...
, cereals, pastas
Pasta (, ; ) is a type of food typically made from an unleavened dough of wheat flour mixed with water or eggs, and formed into sheets or other shapes, then cooked by boiling or baking. Rice flour, or legumes such as beans or lentils, are so ...
, instant rice
Instant rice is a product in which white rice is partially precooked, dehydrated, and repackaged in dried form similar in appearance to regular white rice. That process allows the product to be later cooked as if it were normal rice but with a ty ...
, desserts, icings, fillings, puddings, toppings
Topping may refer to:
* Hill-topping, a mate-acquisition strategy amongst insects
* Topping, slang term for capital punishment, especially hanging or beheading
* Topping (surname), the name of several people
* Topping (agriculture), a practice us ...
, sugar confectionaries, powdered beverage mixes, creamers, cream liqueur
A cream liqueur is a liqueur that includes dairy cream and a generally flavourful liquor among its ingredients.
Notable cream liqueurs include:
* Somrus, a mixture of rum and chai spices, alphonso mangoes or chicory coffee
* Amarula, which uses ...
s, dehydrated potatoes, snack dips, sauce
In cooking, a sauce is a liquid, cream, or semi-solid food, served on or used in preparing other foods. Most sauces are not normally consumed by themselves; they add flavor, moisture, and visual appeal to a dish. ''Sauce'' is a French wor ...
s, gravies, chewing gum
Chewing gum is a soft, cohesive substance designed to be chewed without being swallowed. Modern chewing gum is composed of gum base, sweeteners, softeners/ plasticizers, flavors, colors, and, typically, a hard or powdered polyol coating. Its t ...
, dietetic foods, minced and diced canned meats, and ''mostarda di frutta''. In the United States, approved uses and use levels are described in 21 CFR 172.844,[ 21 CFR 176.170] and 21 CFR 177.120.[ while the corresponding regulations in the EU are listed in Regulation (EC) No 95/2.]
The largest application of CSL is in yeast leavened bakery products. Although CSL was introduced to the market first, most applications use SSL. The main reason for the preference of SSL over CSL is that CSL has less crumb softening effects than SSL. However, CSL is still preferred in some applications, such as lean hearth bread-type formulations. In these applications, CSL is preferred because CSL performs better than SSL as a dough strengthener, while the finished product does not require a soft crumb or a perfectly symmetrical loaf shape.
References
{{reflist
Food additives
Salts of carboxylic acids
Calcium compounds
E-number additives