The latest technologies for the application of gellan gum

Abstract

Gellan gum already has 10 years’ history of commercial application as a food additive, and now it has been applied to a very wide range of foods. Gellan gum is a polysaccharide produced extracellularly by a microorganism (Pseudomonas elodea); it is a straight-chain heteropolysaccharide and comprises a repeating unit of four monosaccharide molecules, i.e., glucose, glucuronic acid, glucose, and rhamnose, thus having one carboxyl group in the repeating unit. Recently, various new applications have been being studied and new technologies have often been used. Gellan microgel makes full use of the gelling characteristics, heat resistance, good flavor release, etc., of the gum. As its name indicates, the microgel is an assemblage of very fine particles of gellan gum gel and has intermediate characteristics between gel and sol. Gellan gum gels instantaneously in the presence of appropriate cations. Based on this property, gellan gum can be used as an adhesive to apply seasonings to the surfaces of foods such as potato chips, crackers, arare, etc. In addition, gellan gum can gel if any of the cations exists with it. Based on this character, gellan gum can make processable a food material which has been regarded as unsuitable for food processing. The applications presented here are only part of the whole range of gellan gum applications. It is expected that new applications to foods will be developed in future by making use of the excellent properties of gellan gum.