Leader in chocolate emulsifiers

Wednesday, 27 January 2010

Palsgaard was the first company in the world specialising in the manufacture and development of emulsifiers for the food industry. Today, the company offers more than just ingredients....Its extensive application services are key to the success of many of its customers product development projects. ‘Quality control is a fine thing, but self-control is even better!’ so says Palsgaard, a global leader in emulsifier solutions for the chocolate industry. To prove this, the company produces all of its emulsifiers in state-of-the-art production facilities in strict compliance with procedures implicit in the HACCP principles and the ISO 9001 system. The company’s philosophy also sees it continually investing in the development of its ingredients to ensure it is able to offer its customers ingredients with value-added properties to enable them to keep pace with consumer trends and demands. “Quality is generated internally but felt externally. We know how ingredients behave in our production, but more importantly how they work in the end products. A special focus on the functional properties in the end products has resulted in a number of unique specially developed analytical tools, which secure the well known stability of Palsgaard products. It’s not just about the ingredients Talking to Palsgaard, it quickly becomes evident that the company does not consider itself simply as an ingredients supplier. The company is also dedicated to the task of helping its customers make the leap from a great product idea to production – helping get that idea onto the production line as quickly and cost effectively as possible. To this end, the company uses its long history of food industry knowledge, gained from almost over 100 years of supplying emulsifier ingredients, encompassing the entire value chain. Palsgaard can offer its customers a useful supplement to their own R&D facilities. It has mini factories available dedicated to each of its application areas – bakery, confectionery and chocolate, margarine and shortenings; fine foods; ice cream and dairy. Customer support is further provided by offering ingredient specifications for recipes, helping to contribute to increased efficiency and finished product quality. For example, if a customer wanted to alter one or more of the basic ingredients of their product, this may require a change of emulsifier system. Palsgaard will be able to suggest the best solution. A customer may also wish to make improvements to a finished product... whatever the requirements. Palsgaard is able to contribute greatly to the fine-tuning of the process, testing the effects of any changes in its pilot facilities, and helping the customer to prepare for full scale production. Currently, Palsgaard has application centres in Denmark, Singapore and Mexico. A history of innovation Palsgaard was the first company in the world to specialise in the manufacturing of emulsifiers for the food industry, and it celebrated its 100th anniversary last year. It all started in 1908, when Ejnar Viggo Schou acquired the Palsgaard estate in Denmark and began the long tradition of developing food ingredients on the site. Always an enthusiastic inventor, Schou patented his first invention – the double cooling drum for margarine manufacture – in 1907. In 1919 he founded the factory Emulsion A/S, following many years of experimenting with emulsions. In 1920 he patented the world-famous PEO (Palsgaard Emulsion Oil) for foodstuffs. The innovations continued through the years under the leadership of his son Herbert, who, in 1949 founded Nexus A/S, which he established to concentrate exclusively on research and development. Nexus remains of great importance to Palsgaard’s development today. Herbert had no children, so prior to his death in 1985 he decided to transform  the Palsgaard companies from private limited companies to Foundation ownership. The Schou Foundation, created in 1957 took over ownership of all the Palsgaard companies with a deed of foundation set up to ensure that it continued to be a good workplace; to preserve and develop the companies cultural values; to possess and support independent research companies and to ensure that employees received a share of the company profits. Palsgaard believes that this makes it unique in today’s world of international conglomerates. It is owned by a foundation whose primary objective is its commitment to research and to the preservation, protection and development of Palsgaard. In today’s fast-paced economic climate, where many companies are focussed on a need for instant returns, Palsgaard has the freedom to concentrate on helping advance its customers businesses. It is not constrained by the need to chase short-term profit, but instead is able to focus on forging an enduring and a mutually profitable relationship with its customers. PGPR for high-quality chocolate Palsgaard produces several kinds of emulsifiers and stabilisers for use in sugar and chocolate confectionery applications. With Palsgaard® PGPR 4150, the company has set new standards for PGPR – Polyglycerol Polyricinoleate (E476) – which is widely used by the chocolate and confectionery industry to regulate the rheological properties and help reduce the quantity of cocoa butter required in a recipe. Palsgaard® PGPR 4150 is a unique PGPR which, for the first time, combines high functionality with a completely flavour-neutral character & transparent appearance, making it an excellent choice for use in high-quality chocolate products. It has achieved this by applying special process steps which produces an emulsifier that is free from the characteristic smell and flavour traditionally associated with PGPR. Because Palsgaard® PGPR 4150 is so highly concentrated it can be added at lower dosages than standard PGPR, giving optimal flow properties of the chocolate mass. It can contribute to major reductions of the fat level in the chocolate, compared to standard PGPR products. In moulded chocolate products the addition of Palsgaard® PGPR 4150 can solve various common processing problems. It greatly facilitates the removal of air bubbles during the vibration step of the moulding process, resulting in no air bubbles in the chocolate. It also promises improved moulding capabilities, because the chocolate is more easily and rapidly distributed in the moulds. In enrobing applications – one of the most viscosity dependent processes in chocolate production – the flow property of the chocolate must be precisely adjustable. Chocolate with a high fat content is therefore usually employed in enrobing applications, to obtain the desired flow properties. However, the use of Palsgaard® PGPR 4150 enables the desired flow properties to be achieved with lower-fat chocolate. Ammonium phosphatide – Palsgaard® AMP 4448 – also known as “Lecithin YN” is the best and most efficient alternative to lecithin in chocolate products and provides the chocolate producer with a number of valuable advantages. Palsgaard® AMP 4448 is produced in such a way that the functional properties are always on a highly efficient and stable level, and this will secure the chocolate manufacturer a stable and uniform production flow. The liquid form makes it easy to dose at any temperature, avoiding excessive energy use Due to the high efficiency of Palsgaard® AMP 4448, a lower dosage can be used to obtain the same flow properties. It is important to note that when using the same or even higher dosage than lecithin, substantial amounts of cocoa butter can be removed from the recipe, securing a cost effective product. The manufacturing process of Palsgaard® AMP 4448 secures a neutral taste, which is not detectable in even the mildest types of chocolate. Palsgaard® AMP 4448 contains no allergens and the base material for producing Palsgaard® AMP 4448 is non-gmo, non-hydrogenated rape seed oil. The company’s fully equipped chocolate pilot plant starts with mixing equipment, followed by refining, conching and tempering. Palsgaard can study the effect of emulsifiers all the way through the manufacturing process. In addition to its traditional chocolate pilot plant, the company has an all-in-one refiner and conche machine which is suitable for production of a wide range of confectionery products such as chocolate, compound coatings, chocolate spreads, fillings and ice cream coatings. Testing on process equipment similar to that used in many chocolate factories allows the company to demonstrate the real-life obtainable advantages of using Palsgaard chocolate emulsifiers in a recipe. This setup creates an ideal base for prototyping all the way from idea to success in the market. With the focus on the functionality of the Palsgaard products in the final application, Palsgaard secures the effect of all its chocolate emulsifiers in the actual application, before it is supplied to customers. Every batch is tested in a chocolate system, where the exact “viscosity reducing power” (VRP) is determined. Only batches which can meet the strict chocolate specifications will be approved for sale. This secures a unique batch-to-batch stability, which is highly valued by the confectionery industry. www.palsgaard.com

 

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