Cargill’s breakthrough pectin series offers notable confectionery potential

Cargill has unveiled a significant product breakthrough with its latest series LM conventional (LMC) pectin gelling agents designed to create novel textures in a number of product ranges including confectionery with organic and natural claims, writes Neill Barston.

As the company explained, its latest ingredient range comes amid heightened demand for ranges that offer sugar reduction and clean label properties that are perceived as offering consumers better-for-you options.

Consequently, Unipectine LMCPlus caters to low sugar and high fruit jam and bakery fruit fillings and allows for higher performance in terms of gel strength and spreadability compared to standard series.

It is said to be suitable for both organic and conventional market applications, LMCPlus offers a cost competitive solution for customers looking to meet macro consumer trends, such as increased interest in sugar reduction and clean label.

Toygun Atlan, Product Line Manager Pectin explains: “We know the importance of catering to the demand for more label-friendly options and saw a clear gap in the market. These pectins, which are made using proprietary technology, go above and beyond to meet our customers’ needs in terms of formulation and texture while remaining relevant to market trends such as sugar reduction, plant-based, and label-friendliness.”

The launch of the new pectin range follows a significant investment in Cargill’s pectin production technology at Malchin, Germany. This highly sustainable pectin site uses 70% green energy consumption (electricity/steam) and is very efficient in terms of the reuse of water.

“The technology developed at Cargill’s Malchin facility in Germany enables us to produce LMC pectins under faster and more gentle processing conditions – resulting in a high performing pectin. Through this new process, we are protecting more of the inherent properties of the pectin – in effect we are creating more label-friendly products, that deliver greater value to our customers,” Atlan adds.

Cargill’s recent investments in pectin also include the opening of its pectin plant in Bebedouro, Brazil. This facility, conveniently located next to one of the world’s biggest fruit orchards, has enabled Cargill to expand its pectin output volume by some 50%, complementing its three European plants in Redon (France), Malchin (Germany), and Milazzo (Italy).

These investments have enabled Cargill to expand its value-added range in Europe while increasing volumes of LMC sales globally. The company plans to expand the UniPECTINE® LMCPlus range to also cover dairy and fruit yoghurt applications by early 2024, positioning itself as a key leader in the global pectin market.