The instant food product market is growing at a strong and steady rate, with the popularity of a certain item determined not only by its ingredients but by its ease of preparation. These instantised food needs to be easily dissolvable in water, milk or any liquid without clumping. Additionally, different regions have distinct regulatory requirements that need to be met. Not following these specific standards not only results in market exclusion, but the possibility of incurring penalties and other fees.

In order to meet these particular demands in the market, Sternchemie has introduced new additions to its lecithin product portfolio – the SternInstant and SternPhil series. These are sprayable lecithin blends that are made with soy, rapeseed or sunflower lecithin that can be utilised by manufacters of instant products.

Christine Schwarz, Technical Product Manager SternInstant, explains: “The most important criteria in the manufacture of instant powders are their wettability, sinking behaviour and easy stirring. Liquid lecithin is a proven way to get these properties. With SternInstant, we offer a sprayable, all-vegetable lecithin-oil mixture whose special composition gives it very low viscosity.”

Wettability is improved with the lecithin forming a fine film around individual powder particles. Surface tension is reduced between the powder and the liquid, enabling the powder to distribute and dissolve evenly in the liquid. It makes fatty powders dissolve even in cold liquid.

The SternInstant sprayable lecithin is great for milk powders and instant protein products like sports drinks or diet shakes. SternPhil is comprised of enzymatically hydrolysed lecithin, which acts as an emulsifier that optimises properties of fat powders.

Sternchemie also ensures that its products are tailor-made to a client’s specific needs. “Our goal is to give the customer the best powder properties and high production efficiency. Naturally we also take into account individual wishes, like clean label, non-GMO, RSPO-certified and organic,” notes Torben Werner, Product Manager SternInstant.