Overview: Gillco Ingredients, an Azelis Company
Gillco Ingredients is a wholesale ingredients distributor that focuses on clean label and organic solutions. We’ve been in the business since 1982 and have had the pleasure of working with some incredible food and beverage brands and co-manufacturers. We pride ourselves on being strategic, solutions-based ingredient specialists.
Overview: Fiberstar
Our Supplier Partner, Fiberstar, is one of the most reputable Citrus Fiber ingredient manufacturers in the world, and we’re grateful to be able to offer their products to our customers. Fiberstar is a private food ingredient company that manufactures and sells natural upcycled plant-based ingredients globally including Citri-Fi citrus fiber. The company works closely with orange juice processors to reclaim the fibrous component which would have otherwise been discarded. By using the patented process, Fiberstar can create a higher value added ingredient which improves the quality, texture and health of a variety of food and beverage applications.
Their company is headquartered in River Falls, Wisconsin with manufacturing operations in both Wisconsin and Florida. Fiberstar’s strong IP portfolio consists of 12 issued patents and 17 pending patents. Because of this, R&D continues to innovate new ways to use citrus fiber in applications.
Fiberstar sells into over 69 countries via both direct sales and via over 40 distributors.
What is Citri-Fi Citrus Fiber?
As mentioned, Citri-Fi is created from byproduct of the citrus juicing process. The patented process which involves only heat and water creates a free-flowing powder. This citrus fiber powder’s fibrous matrix lends itself to multiple functionalities that we will discuss in the next slides.
Versatile Formulating Tool
This upcycled food ingredient is created using a patented process free from chemical modifications. The composition of both insoluble and soluble fiber contains high levels of intact native pectin which gives its high level of functionalities such as water holding, emulsification and gel formation.
Citri-Fi’s Unique Functionality
Citri-Fi citrus fiber contains over 75% total dietary fiber with half being insoluble fiber and the other half being soluble fiber. There is a small protein fraction. The soluble fiber attracts and binds water to provide some viscosity. The insoluble fiber provides a structure to hold the water indefinitely. The protein content aids in fat or oil binding to stabilize emulsions.
Citri-Fi vs. Competition
Not all citrus fibers are created the same. Other citrus fibers are part of the pectin extraction process. These processes may contain solvents and other chemical modifications. As mentioned, Citri-Fi’s composition contains both insoluble and soluble fiber. The high level of pectin content also differentiates Citri-Fi from other citrus fibers. Some other citrus fiber suppliers may add pectin back into their product to achieve a similar level of functionality. Fiberstar’s product is upcycled since it is byproduct of the citrus industry. According to the Upcycled Food Association, an Upcycled food is food that would normally be thrown away or used as animal feed but is instead repurposed to make a new food product. Fiberstar prides itself on creating a natural plant-based ingredient with minimal processing like Mother Nature intended.
Citri-Fi’s Functionality in Food
Citri-Fi provides multiple functionalities including water holding, gelling, thickening, added viscosity and stability. One of the key functionalities includes natural emulsification. Many other food ingredients require chemical modifications to create emulsification benefits. Using citrus fiber keeps the labeling clean and natural.
Application Focus: Dressings, Dips, Sauces and Spreads
Today, we are going to focus on the dressing, dip and sauce category. Citri-Fi can be used in a variety of dressing and sauces due to its high heat, low pH and freeze/thaw stability. Additional benefits include added viscosity, especially with the new 600 series, emulsion stability and egg reduction. Other benefits specific to tomato-based products involve tomato extension. Citri-Fi can extend tomato up to 25% while still maintaining a natural tomato-like texture and providing potential cost savings.
Another perk using Citri-Fi in these type of applications is the ability to clean up food ingredient statements. Depending on the food application, Citri-Fi maybe be able to replace certain food gums and/or modified starches. Labeling options include citrus fiber, dried citrus pulp or citrus flour which all resonate well in the clean label and natural markets.
Citrus Fiber Benefits
Citri-Fi offers clean label and non-GMO benefits, with organic options available. It acts as a natural emulsifier, forming stable emulsions, thickening products, and improving texture and mouthfeel. Citri-Fi remains effective in ambient conditions, as well as under heat, low pH, and freeze-thaw conditions. This can lead to reduced fat and/or egg content in emulsions, further cutting costs.
Clean Label Solution
Citri-Fi serves as an excellent emulsifier and thickener in sauces to application categories such as dressings, marinades, sauces, and spreads. To replace gums, you can select Citri-Fi 100 series to get a cleaner label. To replace modified starch, all the series work from 100, 200 to 300. In these applications, Citri-Fi helps improve the nutritional profile of foods, substitutes chemical and synthetic ingredients, enhances texture, and promotes sustainability.
Suspension Stability
Citri-Fi is produced using mechanical treatment, preserving soluble and insoluble fibers and intact pectin. In contrast, other citrus fibers undergo strong acid and/or alcohol extraction, removing pectin and leaving mainly insoluble cellulose fibers. So, the overall suspension and emulsification properties are not as good as Citri-Fi.
Emulsification Stabilization
We present some examples using Citri-Fi to make oil-in-water emulsion. We selected canola and palm oils at a 50 to 50 water to oil ratio to make the emulsions varying with Citri-Fi usage rate. All the emulsions are stored at room temperature for 7 days. As Citri-Fi usage increases, emulsions become more homogeneous due to increased viscosity. In general, 2-4% Citri-Fi is needed to make a homogenous emulsion under this simplified oil and water only system. In practice, Citri-Fi works synergistically with other ingredients, so the overall usage rate is much lower, roughly 1% or less in most of the applications.
Syneresis
We used Citri-Fi 100 to replace a conventional synthetic stabilizer in the tzatziki application. After 6 days, the control product shows water separation, but the Citri-Fi-treated product controls water syneresis effectively. This demonstrates Citri-Fi’s excellent water-holding properties and ability to improve texture. Additionally, Citri-Fi is E-number free and helps improve the overall texture as well.
Thickening
Citri-Fi is a potent thickener and emulsifier, with properties significantly influenced by shear strength. A simple emulsion with 2% Citri-Fi 100FG, 25% oil, and 73% water forms a uniform emulsion through hand mixing. High-pressure homogenization further changes the viscosity, transforming the emulsion from a flowable liquid to a paste-like structure. Because high-pressure homogenizer can reduce the particle size of the Citri-Fi, improve the surface area, and expose much more functional groups of the fiber to let it bind more oil and water to improve the overall emulsification properties.
Mouthfeel & Texture
Citri-Fi enhances the texture and mouthfeel of food and beverage products. Depending on the desired outcome, Citri-Fi offers different particle sizes for various applications. Citri-Fi 100 provides a pulpy texture, while Citri-Fi 100M40 offers a smooth and creamy mouthfeel suitable for some sauces and beverages. Citri-Fi 100FG is in between these two products which balance the pulpy and fine texture. It’s also the first recommended product if the customer has never used Citri-Fi in their product. According to the requirement, you can move to either a larger or smaller size.
pH Stability
Citri-Fi remains consistent across a normal pH range in most food and beverage applications. Its viscosity and water-holding properties remain stable from pH 2 to neutral. When pH reaches 8 or higher, viscosity increases slightly due to fiber swelling and pectin release, which boosts viscosity and water retention.
Heat Stability
Other than pH, Citri-Fi is also heat stable. The example here indicated the viscosity is very consistent under temperatures from 30 to 90 degree Celsius. The water holding capacity of the Citri-Fi didn’t change significantly either when temperatures increased from 20 to 80 degree Celsius, under high shear or not. This offers flexibility for final applications compared to many other stabilizers like gums or starches, which require heat activation.
Freeze Thaw Stability
Citri-Fi demonstrates good freeze thaw stability over at least 1 year storage. Here is an example of the ice cream using Citri-Fi 100M40 and 100M20. Compared with control using a combined MCC, CMC and carrageenan, the clean labeled ice cream with Citri-Fi presented comparable freeze thaw stability and improved texture. Unlike many other soluble gums or stabilizers, Citri-Fi’s combination of soluble and insoluble components prevents structural damage during freeze-thaw cycles, maintaining its function.
Fat Reduction
Due to Citri-Fi’s excellent emulsification properties, it can be used to reduce the fat in the form of oil-in-water emulsion. The products reduce fat but maintain the same or better creamy texture. In this slide, we presented an example of alfredo sauce using Citri-Fi 100FG along with skim milk to reduce the butter, over 50% of heavy cream and parmesan as well. In total, the fat was reduced by at least 20%. As you can see in the pictures, the product with Citri-Fi matched well with the control before and after heating.
Egg Reduction
Another popular benefit of Citri-Fi is egg reduction. Egg itself is a good natural emulsifier and gelling agent. Citri-Fi can partially replace eggs due to its great emulsification properties. In this slide we used Citri-Fi 100M40 or Citri-Fi 300M40 along with water to replace 25% egg in the mayo. Compared with control with full egg, the product with Citri-Fi 100M40 maintains the same viscosity, while 300M40 increases the viscosity. The sensory evaluation also indicated the improved mouthfeel and texture. For egg reduction, a Citri-Fi-to-egg ratio of 1:15 to 1:20 is recommended.
Case Study: Plant Based Dip
For this study we had a specific commercial product in mind, an almond based dressing/dip. So, the first step was to imitate that product.
Formulations
The goal of the procedure was to keep it as simple as possible, while still making a consistent product. To enhance the functionality of the Citri-Fi in the formulation, it was pre-sheared and hydrated before the rest of the ingredients. As we will see later on, this pre-hydration step can be quite useful if you are able to incorporate it into your process.
Control Formula Development
In general, both products were runny, with a flavor profile similar to hummus and almond paste. The only thing missing was a natural thickener to increase the body and mouthfeel, making it more dippable!
Effects of Citri-Fi on Viscosity
The first comparison we tested was a standard starting usage rate of Citri-Fi 600FG, 0.5%. Right away it was clear that the addition of Citri-Fi increased the body of the product and gave it a natural feeling thickness. At this point the application was looking promising, but there was still much more to test.
Pre-Hydrating Effects
While the first test focused on the ideal process of including Citri-Fi, we wanted to see if it would still provide value in a process that couldn’t have the pre-shear and hydration to Citri-Fi. As you can see in the images, there is still an increase in viscosity and body even without pre-hydration. However, the full functionality only comes when you introduce the pre-hydration step.
Effects of Usage Level on Viscosity
On to the next test, we looked at increasing the usage level of Citri-Fi. We tested 0.5%, 1%, and 1.5% incorporation with pre-hydration. Looking at the Bostwick readings for each formula, we can see a linear and predictable increase in viscosity. Based on this test we can target any specific viscosity range that a customer might need. There would be no need for any additional thickening agents in the formulation.
Rheology Data
Trying to be as thorough as possible, we used another method to test the viscosity of the previous test. This time using a rheometer. Looking at the viscosity vs shear rate, the trend is clearly matching what we saw on the Bostwick. A predictable increase in viscosity with the increase in Citrti-Fi usage rate along with the same response to shear stress.
Centrifuging to Predict Stability
Another important factor to consider is shelf life. Over time, this product will tend to separate, since it has a large amount of fat and water. For an accelerated shelf life test we centrifuged the samples at 2200 RPM for 10 minutes. As you can see, the long-term stability is improved with the incorporation of Citri-Fi. The control sample of 17.5 ml had noticeably more water separation after the centrifuge treatment than any other sample. Even when the Citri-Fi samples had much more sample per tube, they still ended with less separated water.
Summary: Dressings, Dips, Sauces, Spreads
To summarize, Citri-Fi can be used in dressings, dips, sauces, and spreads to enhance viscosity, stabilize suspensions and emulsions, extend tomato products, and reduce egg usage. Examples include BBQ sauce, mayo, ranch dressing, tomato sauce, and pourable or spoonable dressings and sauces. Citri-Fi usage levels typically range from 0.2% to 2%, depending on the application type and Citri-Fi product.
Key Takeaways
In conclusion, Citri-Fi is sustainable, upcycled, and offers organic options. It is processed using patented technology, providing high water holding and exceptional emulsification properties. As a natural and clean-labeled product, it can be labeled as citrus fiber, citrus flour or dried citrus pulp. Moreover, Citri-Fi can replace, reduce, or work synergistically with other hydrocolloids.
Have any questions? Need a sample? Reach out to our team today.