Special Report – Agri-Food in Canada

I
N THE late 1960s, two young chemists and 90’s, Bartek built its own maleic anhydride plant, which
colleagues, one an immigrant from South Africa produces the raw material for malic acid. By then,
and the other from Holland, came to a fork in the Bartek was already the world’s largest producer of
road. Seeking to master their own futures, they left the malic acid and in the late 1990’s the company also
chemical distribution company where they worked and attained global leadership in fumaric acid.
pooled their savings to start their own company. While
looking for an opportunity to build upon their chemical Adding intensity to beverages
engineering expertise, malic acid caught their attention. The story of Bartek’s operational progress, however,
Malic acid was then a relatively new organic acid must go hand in hand with the company’s efforts in
to industry, and manufactured by only one or two developing and deepening the markets for these
companies in the world, one of which was a firm called acidulants. As Raffaele Brancato, Bartek’s Vice-
Alberta Gas. President, Sales
The partners & Marketing,
rose to the told Food &
challenge of
developing their
own process for
An Acid’s Beverage Asia,
“Bartek
worked hard to
has

manufacturing
malic acid, and
built a pilot
Balancing Act meet a conti-
nually changing
market’s needs,
plant in the firstly by having
backyard of one What’s sour is sweet for Bartek Ingredients, an a good distri-
of their homes, Ontario-based company that has emerged as the bution network,
with the proviso world’s leading supplier of malic acid. With subtle yet but also by
of burying their powerful effects that improve the flavour profile of sharing its ex-
first reactor in a pertise on malic
many popular products, malic acid is finding favour in
hole in the acid through the
garden, just in a growing number of food categories. many technical
case it blew up! journals and
Their expe- s e m i n a r s
riments proved fruitful and a small sponsored by Bartek.”
manufacturing plant was built in Unlike citric acid and acetic
Stoney Creek, Ontario, in 1976. acid, the old workhorse acidulants
From the very beginning, Bartek of the food industry, malic acid is a
Ingredients pursued an international relatively unfamiliar ingredient.
profile. In part, this was making a Thus, Bartek actively holds
virtue out of necessity, as the seminars all over the world and has
company’s initial capacity lacked the developed a library of resources to
economies of scale to meet North help food formulators understand
American demand. So they focused how malic acid performs in various
on smaller markets where they could food systems.
guarantee reliable shipments. A Long-term trends in the beverage
company in Norway was Bartek’s sector have favoured malic acid. “The
first customer. move towards diet drinks has been
Over time, the Ontario plant was very good for Bartek,” says Mr.
expanded to meet rising demand. The Used in conjunction with artificial Brancato, “because malic acid, in
year 1983 presented a new sweeteners in beverages, malic acid conjunction with artificial swee-
opportunity for Bartek when Alberta gives a mellow, lingering impact. In teners, gives a much better flavour
Gas suffered a fire and was forced to coffee drinks and juices, malic acid experience than citric acid alone –
helps reduce bitterness and
stop production. By this time Bartek smoothens the flavour profile. In the reason being that malic acid has
was able to plug the resulting gap in hard candies, malic acid makes the a mellow, lingering impact, unlike
North American demand. To further fruit flavour more intense and less citric acid which is very
ensure supply continuity in the early aggressive. pronounced, short and sharp.”

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 Special Report – Agri-Food in Canada

“If an artificial sweetener ’s hard candy made with malic acid Rancher candy, it has a very intense
impact lasts longer than the with another using citric, people flavour, but it doesn’t feel overly
accompanying acid’s sourness, then immediately notice that the fruit sour or aggressive.”
a beverage can often leave a flavour of the malic acid candy One of the fastest growing
metallic or sweet aftertaste once the seems more intense, partly because confectionery sectors is in so-called
sourness disappears. Malic acid the candy feels less aggressive, but sour candies – the Warheads,
reduces this effect. It Fuzzies and Nerds.
helps mask the “Kids love them,”
aftertaste by notes Mr. Brancato,
extending the “and this is where
sourness; many diet the synergy of acids
soft drinks use malic is important”. These
acid for this reason.” products require a
Malic acid also multiplicity of acids
addresses the to obtain an
formulator’s desire exponential leap in
to create products sourness, and thus
with more natural include a rainbow
flavour profiles. of acids including
“The way malic acid fumaric, tartaric,
interacts with citric and malic.
flavours helps create To help formu-
a different expe- lators find the right
rience,” according to acid and dosage
Mr. Brancato. “Many food levels, Bartek’s Senior Food
scientists believe that by adding “When you eat ketchup, you don’t Scientist, Dan Sortwell has
citric acid to an orange flavoured developed a large volume of
think of chives, onions, garlic and
beverage they’ll automatically literature, including a Self-
achieve a natural flavour profile. tomatoes – you think of ketchup. This Teaching Guide that is available
But if you take an orange is because of malic acid’s superior on Bartek’s website
flavoured drink and add just a flavour-blending ability. In Asia, where (www.bartek.ca). “To simplify
few drops of malic acid to it, it a lot of sauce mixes are combinations the task and save the formulator
actually tastes more orangey, of many different products, a more valuable benchwork time, we
because orange juice naturally start off with a mathematical
rounded flavour profile is often
contains malic acid.” model,” explains Mr. Brancato.
To prove this point, Bartek achieved with malic acid.” “We ask the formulator, ‘what
has devised a dropper bottle for pH environment do you want
customer presentations that adds – Raffaele Brancato, Vice President, for the drink?’ And according
precise amounts of a malic acid Sales & Marketing, Bartek. to that pH, we can tell him –
solution to beverages such as depending on how much
coffee. “It helps reduce sourness he wants, and even to
bitterness meanwhile smoothing also because the lingering sourness some degree which flavour notes
and rounding the flavour profile,” of malic acid stimulates receptors he’d like to highlight – the
explains Mr. Brancato. “It’s quite a in the tongue differently than citric; combination of acids that would
remarkable change!” this experience is ultimately work best for him.”
perceived by the brain to mean
Combinations for candies more intense flavour.” Asia takes to malic acid
In confectionery, malic acid “A good example is Jolly Bartek enjoys a wide presence
improves the flavour of hard Rancher (a brand of Hershey’s), in Asia, with distributors across the
candies. “Citric acid is a very high probably the leading hard candy in Asia Pacific who help convey the
intensity acid, so it can be a little the US. They use malic acid company’s often highly technical
aggressive in hard candies,” says throughout their entire range of data to end-users in their own
Mr. Brancato. “If you compare a hard candy. When you taste a Jolly language and context. “There are a

50 FOOD & BEVERAGE ASIA FEBRUARY/MARCH 2006

 Special Report – Agri-Food in Canada

number of applications for malic acid in Asia which don’t it gives you that thirst-quenching ‘Wow’. But consumers
necessarily appear elsewhere,” notes Mr. Brancato. Jelly also want a pleasant flavour sensation; this is why you
poppers are gelatinous soft candies packed in a lidded, also need a little malic acid in the mix.”
squeezable cup. “These products are very popular in Asia, Beverages based on traditional herbal extracts and
and because many of them are fruit-flavoured, malic acid nutraceuticals are also good candidates for malic acid
is a popular acid choice.” application. “Fortified juices, fortified drinks, and
Another customer prepares flavoured prunes. “During nutraceutical beverages in general have turned out to be
the process they extract much of the liquid and naturally- good for us,” says Mr. Brancato. “The long-lasting
occurring acids in the plum,” says Mr. Brancato. Malic sourness of malic acid and its ability to blend many
acid, which is found naturally in plums, has to be added different flavour notes create a more balanced flavour
back to get a natural flavour profile. profile, because many fortifying ingredients often have
One of the largest uses of malic acid in Japan is in an otherwise unpleasant flavour.”
sodium malate. Cod roe is very popular in Japan, but one Asia will continue to be a key driver for Bartek. Mr.
problem is that once it is taken out of the fish, it starts to Brancato expects to see sustained high growth GDP rates
dry and shrink. Sodium malate increases the osmotic and the associated adjustments in food consumption
pressure within the egg, thereby counteracting this habits. “The use of malic acid rises in proportion with
dehydration and keeping moisture within the egg. the use of prepared and convenience foods,” he observes.
Soups and sauces, many of which feature sweet-and- “As more people buy cans of beverages, and as more
sour flavours, are also suitable applications. Ketchup is a children go to school with prepacked lunches, and as more
prime example. “When you eat ketchup, you don’t think women join the workforce, more products are likely to
of chives, onions, garlic and tomatoes,” states Mr. contain malic acid.”
Brancato. “You think of ketchup. This is because of malic The region’s growing export strength, and investments
acid’s superior flavour-blending ability. In Asia, where a in value-added processing of local produce, such as fruits
lot of sauce mixes are combinations of many different and vegetables, also heralds opportunities for malic acid’s
products, a more rounded flavour profile is often achieved subtle but significant impact on food flavours. “Thailand
with malic acid.” and Indonesia export a lot of fruits, but more products
are being processed and packaged locally,” remarks Mr.
Riding the convenience wave Brancato in closing, “I believe there is a very big market
Mr. Brancato stresses that malic acid should not be for malic acid in Asia and a good future based largely on
regarded as an alternative to citric acid. “To some extent growth in the convenience food sector.”
we compete, but at the same time we partner with citric Enquiry No: 24
acid. Citric acid creates a refreshing flavour experience
in soft drinks because it is fast acting. When you’re thirsty, For more information, please visit: www.bartek.ca

Making malic acid at Bartek

BUTANE gas from oil or gas refineries is the basic raw material for
maleic anhydride, which in turn is the raw material for malic acid. High
purity butane gas is shipped to Bartek’s maleic anhydride plant. There it
is mixed with oxygen and heated in the presence of a catalyst within one
of Bartek’s proprietary maleic anhydride reactors; the resulting chemical
reaction produces a superheated stream of gas containing maleic
anhydride molecules. As this gas is cooled, maleic anhydride is condensed
and liquefied. While still a hot liquid, the maleic anhydride is then sent to
the malic acid plant, where the solution is mixed with water to form
maleic acid. When heated, the maleic acid molecule splits into malic
acid and fumaric acids.
Malic acid is highly soluble, while fumaric acid is not. Lowering the
temperature of the solution causes fumaric acid to precipitate. The
remaining malic acid solution is further processed to flash off the water
and produce pure malic acid crystals. Bartek’s malic acid is GRAS and
approved for food use by the US FDA and CODEX.

FOOD & BEVERAGE ASIA FEBRUARY/MARCH 2006 51