FAIR-CT98-4106 Glucomannan: a new vegetal texturising agent for European food and non-food industries

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	Proposal No:	FAIR-CT98-4106
	Date Prepared:	2001
	Source:	Final Report Abstract and Full report (236Kb PDF)

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Final Report Abstract

Introduction

The following information is based on a much longer final report, which indicates that 'In order to enlarge the dissemination of the acquired results, this reports should not be considered as confidential.' It also indicates that 'Any question or demand for extra explanation can of course be addressed to the Project Coordinator'. It then goes on to summarise the existing background, as follows.

Glucomannan is a hydrocolloidal polysaccharide consisting of mannose and glucose polymers. "Konjac Flour' is obtained from the tubers of various species of plants from the genus Amorphophallus. The principal component of this is a high molecular weight non-ionic glucomannan. Konjac glucomannan is a health product widely used in Asian countries and the United States for its unique functional properties. The most remarkable rheological characteristics of this thickening agent are an impressive water absorption capacity (up to 100 times its weight), a unique viscosifying action and a synergistic behaviour with other gums.

Amorphophallus glucomannan extracts have been recently approved as an ingredient for human consumption by the FDA in the US and appeared, early 1997, with a tentative E 425 agreement number in the modification of the 95/2/CE European authorised Food additives list.

As do their Asian and American counterparts, the European end users, food processors and ingredient blenders, seek a reliable source of konjac flour both in terms of quality and quantity. To include this product in recipes or additives blends for human consumption, all end users need a secured supply meeting European quality standards and satisfying, on a constant basis, their quantity requirements for industrial applications. Raw material is mainly produced in temperate Asian countries (China, Japan' and mountainous regions of Thailand and Indonesia. Except in Japan, there is no reliable and consistent knowledge in agricultural management. The impact of identified varieties on the quality (yield, functional properties) of finished products, is not taken into account for the improvement of industrial flour production.

Raw material production in Europe and proper process management would bring the quality standardisation sought by European end-users. The added value would be created in Europe instead of Japan. Today, the added value is created by the Japanese industry exporting pharmaceutical grade (100% glucomannan) all over the world. The price of this extract is not compatible with an industrial use as a food ingredient in spite of growing demands from the Western food and non-food industries. The main purposes of this project were to set-up an integrated production chain contributing to a significant drop of the glucomannan price through local raw material availability and processing.

Activities

The following description is based on the terms of the official technical annex of the project. It is provided as a guide for those reading the final report. The main aims of the project were to develop methods for the production, processing and utilisation of konjac flour for food and non-food purposes and thus to contribute to EC's agricultural diversification. The project was expected to achieve the following results

Agricultural goals Identification of suitable Amorphophallus varieties showing a high potential productivity in terms of glucomannan through European experimental field trials of selected varieties. In addition the potential of in vitro technology applied to konjac multiplication was assessed.

Biochemistry Biochemical evaluations of various raw materials including flours extracted at the pilot scale from the selected Amorphophallus varieties were carried out. Glucomannan content as well as rheological and other properties were assessed. Synergy between glucomannans and other polymers (hydrocolloids) were investigated, including the impact on the functional properties of konjac flour when mixed with various other food ingredients (gums). A range of tailor made blends with specific functional properties appropriate for various industrial uses were produced.

Industrial A refining procedure for raw flour imported from Asia was established, based on grinding and separation technologies. The processes used are not protected (yet) by any patents recorded for industrial production konjac flour. These studies provided an accurate evaluation of various new processes enabling selection of the most suitable process.

Commercial targets The main aim is to offer industry standardised konjac flour of European origin. The availability of a reliable source of this ingredient will contribute to strengthen a growing demand and will enhance the quality standards of this product on the European market. In addition to produce a range of konjac based products and/or mixes for wide applications on the European food and ingredient markets.

Long term goals To set up an integrated agro-industrial production chain of konjac food ingredient including agricultural, industrial and commercial investments.

Agricultural goals These include:

• Evaluation of the European agricultural potential.
• Introduction of this crop in the most suitable European regions.
• Optimisation of agricultural practices (mechanisation, crop installation, harvesting...

Industrial objectives These include:

• Improvement of the whole production line by developing specific processes.
• Design of a production unit for tuber transformation.
• Adaptability of the mixes to the food industry's functional requirements.

Results

The following information is taken from part 6 of the report entitled Conclusions, achievements and perspectives.

Crop profitability A tentative gross margin for konjac grown in Europe has been calculated based on data from three years field trials. This gives rather wide potential gross margin of between 360 and 4860 Euros per ha for a 30 tonne per ha yield, depending on a selling price of between 150 and 300 Euro/t with a 300 Euro CAP contribution. The highest input cost is seed material (tubers) at 3800 Euros. This calculation is based on the assumption that yields between 30 to 50 tons per hectare could be reached, which is not the case at present with the cultivars screened and tested. The raw matter price of 200 Euros per ton is probably closer to that which the market will accept.

Information obtained during the course of the project indicated the main problems still hindering a safe and sustainable establishment of konjac crops in Europe regarding crop parameters. These can be summarised, together with some possible solutions, as shown in the following table:

Factors impacting on crop	Agronomic solution	Time to bring to full implementation
Late cold spells and frosts	Later, faster growing cultivars	Mid to long term breeding
Early frosts	Early maturing cultivars, hardier cultivars resistant to cold weather	Mid to long term breeding
Excessive drought in summer	Drought resistance, irrigation	Short term regional planning
Intensive light and exposure to sun in summer	Shading, inter cropping, resistant cultivars	Short to mid term regional planning
Water logged soils	Water resistant cultivars, natural drainage (sloping sites, sandy soils), artificial draining of soils	Short to long term regional planning
Pathogen infestation	Crop rotation, pathogen free certified crops and zones, breeding resistance, reducing chemical fertilisation and nitrogen, survey mineral and trace elements	Short term crop management practices. Long term regional planning
Mechanisation	Improve crop acceptance of handling, adapt planting and harvest methods to crop	Mid term, machine adaptation Long term, crop selection

It appears to be difficult to determine in detail, the exact procedure most suitable for implementing this new crop in Europe based on the current cultivars available. On the basis of the experimental results the following climatic and edaphic parameters can be suggested:

• Regions of mountainous to hilly exposures (light, night temperatures)
• Regions with high yields of precocious maze (but overlap must consider general remarks on frost resistance and drainage)
• Light soils with good drainage
• Regular substantial water supply over the growing period (Summer)

It was concluded that konjac still appears to be a risky crop from the European farmers side and also a difficult crop to implement as an industrialist given the attention that it is receiving in Asian countries and particularly China where Regional support and Local Government are implementing many forms of support from tax benefits to new agricultural laws on farming estates. Japanese production is 2 to 3 times Chinese production since mechanisation has enabled the crop to withstand modernisation of Japanese farming practices and new areas of production that facilitate access to fields and supervision.

Seed shortage is also a key point that has to be to emphasised given the quality of the seeds made available by importers to the consortium during these three years of experimentation. Although seed damage and contamination may arise from multiple causes and differed between years and sources, generally speaking, crop failure has been generally due to insufficient adaptation of cultivars to new growing conditions and to infection from a common but significant pathogen. The only way to purge the germplasm of endogenous bacterial (Erwinia) contamination would be to implement (on a large scale) tissue culture of (if screening were possible) resistant clones and cultivars. The absence of any kind of cultivar descriptors in China is another problem to solve. It should also be noted that in Asia it is not produced in large farming plots, as it would probably have to be in Europe.

Estimations of investment plans to produce 40 Ha of harvestable crop suggest a need for production of 40 times 100 000 tubers = 4 million tubers. This suggests that long term strategies relating to a greater acreage than what has been so far done is required to justify this effort as seeds would cost more in the EU than under Chinese conditions. In China these cost less than 0.1 Euro, but production in Europe would be more than 0.3 Euros per piece (minimum) since it takes 3-4 years in Europe to reach commercial planting size.

Konjac processing A complete process has been designed and tested up to semi-industrial scale and proved to be efficient and cost effective, either of fresh locally grown konjac tubers or semi prepared slices exported from Asian countries. The products obtained were found to be comparable, or even sometimes better, than the imports from China or Japan, and even if some parts of the process may still have to be upgraded, the overall design appears already robust, leading to a potential increase of the quality sold on the market.

The overall processing costs (not taking into account the building), starting from fresh material delivered in the plant, can thus be estimated at a price of 1.4 Euros kg of commercial grade konjac powder.

If it is considered that for this kind of texturizing agent, the process costs can be set up at 40 % of the total cost of the end product (for example as with seaweed extracts), this leads to a potential crop price of roughly 1.6euros / kg of dry matter or around 0.3 Euro/kg of fresh tubers (300 Euros / ton). This price, considered as the highest possible, can be compared to the lowest set up in crops economics, to fulfil farmers required income, of around 150 Euros / ton. If following the hypothesis is considered:

• One ton of tubers gives 125 kg of food grade glucomannan
• The processing costs are 1. 4 Euros / kg of food grade glucomannan
• The cost of raw matter can be estimated between 150 (low) and 300 (high) Euros per ton, giving a cost of 1.2 to 2.4 Euros per kg of food grade glucomannan, when processed.

In this tentative model, the global production costs of food grade glucomannan thus vary between 2.6 and 3.8 Euros/kg. This can be compared with the actual prices of imported food grade konjac flour from China (2.8 to 3 Euros per kg). It appears then that the raw matter prices, again linked with crop productivity, have a significant impact on the global profitability of the system. A maximum, reasonable price for the tubers seems close to 200 Euros per ton, giving a price for the end product more acceptable in competing with the existing imports.

It has to be pointed out that each step of the technology tested and described is well known and does not represent a global huge investment (roughly 760 K Euros for a factory producing around 10 % of the actual konjac lour consumed in Europe). This point is particularly important as technical problems can severely hamper and delay the establishment of new processing lines.

Properties and market approach Based on the deep knowledge gained concerning glucomannan properties and potential outlets, arising from all the tests and analyses carried out during the three years of the project, a reliable and consistent marketing strategy can be proposed:

• participation in several professional exhibitions (such as Food Ingredients Exhibition)
• feed back from samples provided to various industries
• formulation experiments to define more precisely the market size (estimated at the moment between 2000 to 4000 tons in Europe) and its trends.
• a broad direct market approach , with release of technical data-sheets to provide customers with an up-date on Konjac qualities and uses
• a complete brochure giving guidelines for uses of konjac into specific (achieved) providing decision-making information for potential konjac users in a wide range of sectors (see tables below).

In general an increase in interest for konjac is evident, as indicated by the volume of demand for samples and testing of flours and blends developed.

Konjac Glucomannan (KGM) guidelines for applications

DAIRY	Usage levels	Application
Fruit yoghurt, set yoghurt, stirred yoghurt	0.25 -0.4%	resistant to adicidity, fermentation and compatible with pasteurisation and sterilisation, mouthfeel, moisture enhancer
Acidified creams, cheese	0.2%	resistant to adicidity, fermentation and compatible with pasteurisation and sterilisation, texture
Toasted Sandwich cheese	0.4-0.6 %	Avoids overmelting effect, preserves neat aspect Resists temperature fluctuations
Puddings custard, flan	0.25 -0.4%	Moisturiser, stability, syneresis control
Ice cream	CR 0.015%+ KGM 0.15 - 0.35%	protection against meltdown, creaminess
Mousses, frozen mousses	0.2 -0.4%	Emulsion, foam stabiliser, freeze thaw stability
Non dairy creamers	0.33 - 0.66	Controls phase separation and syneresis, , provides mouthfeel (creaminess), extends shelf life (stability).
Butter substitute,	10% (MCC+ KGM)	Low fat products, mouthfeel, reduces chalkiness
Whipping cream	0.25 -0.4%	Foam stabiliser, freeze thaw stability

BAKERY/PASTRY	Usage levels	Application
Dough conditioners		Reduces tackiness, enhances pliability
Bakery products		DF supplement, improves sponges's freshness, freeze thaw stability
Pie fillings		Water activity/ retains moisture, prevents bleeding, prolongs shelf-life
Shortening	1.5 - 2%	educes calories and fat (-75%), maintains mouthfeel substitute shortening replacer and bite, reduces sogginess vs other colloids
Icing		Gel, texture, shine, protection against syneresis
Piping jelly, toppings	0.25 -0.4%	Texture, water stability, shine, increases flexibility/hardness
Coatings, glazes	0.25 -0.4%	Low solids glazes, reduces tackiness, enhances shine, extends shelf life
Water barrier	KGM 0.15% (with carragenan + xanthan + sorbitol)	Very low use tasteless film barrier against migrating water in sandwiches imparting soginess and influencing shelf life
Noodles, pasta	1%	Water holding capacity, temperature stability, DF, low protein, low starch, reduces starch solubilisation (loss)
Biscuit filling	5-10% (with MCC)	Fat:oil reduction, controlled water activity, creamy mouthfeel
Batters	0.5%

CONFECTIONARY	Usage levels	Application
Sweets, gummies	0.1%	Texture improver, moisture enhancer partial substitution of gelatine (heat stability)
Jelly	0.9%	gel strength, texture improver (versatile elasticity)
Meringues	0.25 -0.4%	Foaming agent, stabilizer
Chocolate	2.5%	Heat resistance to 50 degrees C, 95% chocolate + 5% KGM based mix

DRESSINGS	Usage levels	Application
Mayonnaise	0.3-0.6 %	Thickener (low gel strength agars)
LF Salad dressing	MCC + KGM	Fat (oil) substitute
Ketchup	0.15 - 0.5%	Thickener
Sauces, gravies		Emulsion stability, thickener, viscosity adjustment

DRINKS	Usage levels	Application
Prepared soups	0.2 - 0.5%	Texture, suspension, Dietary Fibre
Fibre drinks	3-5%	Texture, DF (low dp KGM)
Soft drinks	0.15-0.5%	Texture, suspension, foam structure, Dietary Fibre
Concentrates	0.5-1%	Maintains colour, regulates freeze point, aroma support, texturises

FRUIT	Usage levels	Application
Fruit Gelatin fruit desserts, WDG	0.95% - 1% KGM + gellan	Gel low syneresis, transparency, Dietary fibre, resistance to sterilisation in Mitsumane type reformed fruit chunks
WDG	0.5- 0.95%	Gel, low syneresis, transparency, Dietary fibre
Sherbets		Texture, protection against meltdown
Jam	0.5- 1%	Flavour release, gelling agent

SPREADS	Usage levels	Application
Low calorie marmalade, jam	0.2-0.5%	thickener
Fruit spreads	0.2-0.5%	Thickener
Honey spreads	0.2-0.5%	Thickener
Cheese spread	0.5-0.6%	Thickener, stiffer slices, processability, moisture control

PROCESSED MEAT PRODUCTS	Usage levels	Application
Injection, tumbling	0.2-0.5% KGM + 0.2-0.6% CARA	Moisture enhancer, water stability, fat replacer - texture ( DF, low protein)
Pet-food meat analogue	0.75-1.5% KGM + 0.5-1% CARA	Water stability in association with other gums or alone, resistant to retorting, shear resistant fat replacer and texturiser
Sausage meat products, burgers	KGM 1.5%, AGAR 0.4%, Xanthan 0.6%	Juice, gravy holder, shape holding, sticky texture, whipping
Surimi	0.2 - 0.4% KMG 0.3% KGM + 0.8 CARRA	KGM Processing aid, elasticity, resistance to breakage

OTHER PRODUCTS	Usage levels	Application
Formed foods	DeacKGM, KGM+LBG+CARRA KGM + CARRA...	Gel structure, gel set control, adhesion of layers, extrusion and processing aid, matrix viscosity control,
Reformed foods for frying	1.5% deacKGM+ wheat flour, xan. + starch, curdlan...	Cohesion and high temperature cohesion of different aqueous and oily pastes and chunks
Frozen foods	0.05-0.3%	Crystal growth control, reduces moisture loss, reduces freezer burn, controls syneresis, reduces thaw separation, controls freezing point

Conclusions

This integrated project that brought together multi-disciplined teams from three member states has produced numerous fundamental and operational results. It has also established strong links between the partners during the project and for foreseen collaborative work.

In-depth studies on glucomannan properties have been undertaken and led, not only to academic progress in knowledge of glucomannan properties, but also to the setting-up of a broad range of methods for characterisation of raw material, intermediate and finished products, giving a direct evaluation of qualities available for specific end-uses.

The European market for konjac or konjac based blends is now quite wide: actual consumption is now estimated at between 2000 to 4000 tons a year. The results arising from the project have put some of the partners in a strong position to fulfil the customer demand for improved knowledge of texturing systems and solutions for gelling agents, such as locust bean gum or gelatine substitutes.

The volume of applications and sales are likely to expand, as indicated by numerous commercial contacts established through the project. A robust industrial method for production of commercial food grade konjac flour has been assessed and proved to be technically achievable and cost effective, with process costs calculated around 1.4 Euros / kg of end-product. This uses common industrial equipment with little need for adapting existing industrial kits. This method is based on a dry process, and thus may have a potential positive impact on environment, with lower needs for wastewater treatment.

However, the feasibility of integrating konjac into European farming systems cannot be considered as fully evaluated, taking into consideration the results obtained with the available Asiatic cultivars tested during the 3 years of the project. Konjac still appears a risky crop for European farmers, with needs for further improvements on many agricultural aspects. Taking into consideration the productivity level attained, the impact of raw material price (tubers) on the final product is far too important to establish a reliable supply chain from European grown Konjac at present.

Increasing and ensuring productivity of the crop under European climates would represent a large amount of work on agronomy, which may be not economically justified by the acreage of land, which could be dedicated to this new specialities crop. It has been estimated that the area of land needed to fulfil Europe's actual requirements is around 1200 hectares. This could, theoretically, represent a good income source for the farmers with a potential gross margin (30 tons sold at 200 Euros) calculated at roughly 1800euros per hectare.