Developed with technology firm Drouven & Fabry, according to Alfred Wolff's Anita Benech, the new Quick Sol agent "keeps the flake product shiny and protects the crunchiness".
In terms of the production line, Alfred Wolff claims their product Quick Sol can bring time savings to processors that opt to use this single polishing agent for two operations.
"Quick Sol's surface polishing of chocolate coated cereal flakes replaces existing two-step processes that use both a polishing and a sealing agent," Anita Benech, marketing manager at the German ingredients company explained to BakeryandSnacks.com.
Shellac-free
Spanning breakfast cereals to crunchy cereal bars, the Quick Sol product is free of the food additive shellac, thereby providing a clean label appeal for the finished product.
Shellac, E number E904, is an all-natural resin secreted on trees by the female lac insect. Their secretion is processed and sold as dry flakes, which are dissolved in denatured alcohol to make liquid shellac that is used by the food industry as a brush-on colorant or a food glaze.
For diverse reasons, from vegetarian criteria because shellac may contain crushed insects to religious beliefs linked to the alcohol used for the extraction, certain manufacturers do not use shellac in their applications.
"Our agent does not contain shellac which is an advantage both for the manufacturer, and the consumer, as shellac is not appreciated by all food manufacturers due to its origin and its extraction in ethanol," added Benech.
Ten kilogramme jerricanes
When asked about the cost of the new polishing agent, Alfred Wolff commented that the price level for Quick Sol is 'in-line' with the market prices for 'professional ingredients'.
Quick Sol is sold to the industry in ten kilogramme jerricanes