(Food-Beverage-News.Com, December 27, 2016 ) Food preservatives are substances that are added to food to keep it safe and fresh for longer duration of time. The food preservatives are used across beverages, dairy bakery, snacks, meat and sea food during processing and packing to prevent them any bacterial effects. The growth in demand of these food items is expected to be major driver for the food preservative market. Global nature of food sourcing and increasing complexities in the food supply chain have resulted in increasing demand for products and techniques required to prolong the shelf-life of the food product, thus increasing the demand for food preservatives.
There are two types of food preservative: natural and artificial. Also, the food preservatives are used for different functions such as antimicrobials, antioxidants, chelating agents and enzyme attackers. Salt, sugar, alcohol, vinegar are some of natural preservatives use in making jams, juices and pickles. Sulphites, Nitrites and Benzoates are three classes of artificial preservatives commonly used in food. Sulphites are used to prevent the growth of bacteria in wine, dried fruits and vegetables in vinegar or brine. Sorbic acid is used in preservation of potato and cheese product. Nitrites are used in meat products such as sausages and hams to protect against the bacterium that can causes botulism. Benzoic acid is more effective against yeasts than against molds and bacteria. It is used as antifungal and antibacterial in low sugar jams, jellies, and condiments.
North America is the largest market for food preservative, followed by Asia-Pacific and Europe. The Asia-Pacific market is expected to have a higher growth rate during the forecasted period. India is the world’s second largest food producer after China, which shows the potential market for food preservative in Asian country.
Preservation techniques for preventing food spoilage have been practiced since ages. Changing lifestyle and increasing trade of food products across the globe have led to the increasing demand for food preservatives. Various government bodies and private industries keep proper regulation to maintain the high standards food quality containing preservatives. Increasing consumer awareness and changing food consumption habit along with increasing population is driving the demand of various segments of food and beverage industry, which in turn, is driving the food preservative market. This growth is also driven by increasing demand for natural food preservatives in developed markets and continued demand for processed food in emerging markets. Sensing the increasing reference of consumers towards the natural food products, certain global companies have started replacing artificial food preservatives with the natural preservatives in their food products. They are further using this to project their product as ‘all-natural’ food product thus attracting larger consumer interest. Convenience food products and personal care products have further increased the application area for the food preservatives.
Some of the major players operating in the market are ABF Ingredients Ltd., Ajinomoto Co. Inc, Archer Daniels Midland Company, Albemarle Corporation, Brenntag Inc., Cargill, Incorporated, Celanese Corporation, Edlong Flavors, Jungbunzlauer Ag, Kerry Group, Purac Biochem B.V, Royal Dsm N.V. and Dupont De Nemours & Company.
