Author: Lasenor

What is the general situation of lecithin in the world?

As a Company present in the main supply areas of Non-GMO lecithin, Lasenor prepares periodical updates on its evolution with the aim of offering this information as a diagnosis and management tool for its clients.

Non-transgenic soy – Preserved Identity

The Indian harvest in 2020 had a lower percentage of damaged seeds than the 2019 one. However, the supply from farmers to the mills was interrupted by widespread floods, which triggered speculative transactions and an increase in prices as a result.

This circumstance, together with the rise in the marketplaces of Chicago and Malaysia, where levels have reached their highest points in five years, has caused even more price speculation on the part of the mills.

Due to the situation of the market, the preserved-identity non-transgenic soy lecithin prices have increased by 6% in 2020 and 9% in 2021.

Another important factor to keep in mind is the presence of ochratoxin (OTA) in food products coming from India. Its prevalence in that country is such that it could lead in the near future to the creation of a double market that would create high prices for low-OTA lecithin and a lower price for lecithins with few OTA restrictions.

 

In this context, Russia has become a reliable option for preserved-identity non-transgenic soy lecithin, given that local regulations ban the use of foods derived from GMO.

AdobeStock 359684492 683X683 1

Sunflower

The sunflower production during the 2020/21 period, of 8.86 million tons, is significantly lower than the one from last year and the average of the last five years, which is mainly due to the decrease in production in Romania and Bulgaria.

According to Lasenor, the development of this market dynamic has given mixed signals during the period going from September to December of 2020:

  • Mills in Russia and the Ukraine were overly cautious because of lower availability, and the price offered for raw lecithin oil has been increasing since the beginning of the season, because of the concerns over availability.
  • Mills in Western Europe were aware of this shortage of raw material in Russia and the Ukraine, but the pressure to increase market shares and recoup the investments of the last 5 years, led them to go along with the downward trend of prices.
  • As a result, prices are at the lowest they have ever been at this time of year.

 

 

But when came the time to deliver products to clients, vendors were going through big difficulties to procure the necessary raw material to respect their engagements.

As a logical consequence, prices are now rising due to the lower availability on the market.

Organic Lecithin

In our Lecithin News of the first trimester of 2020, we expressed our concern over the reliability of the product available on the market due to:

  • The productivity of the crop: 2 metric tons per hectare. Average yield for traditional sunflower; probably lower for organic crops.
  • The yield of the oil extraction keeping in mind that only mechanic press is allowed: 32% of the weight of the seed.
  • Lecithin content: 7 Kg per metric ton of raw sunflower oil, according to Lasenor data.

 

One element to highlight in this organic sunflower lecithin market (which boasts a potential global production of around 800 tons per year), is the current offer of unlimited volumes of organic sunflower lecithin coming from suppliers in India and China. This is an interesting paradox if you remember that there are no organic crops in either country. More astonishing still is the case of India, taking into account that they import around 1.000 tons of traditional sunflower lecithin dos monthly.

Upward Trend

In various editions of Lecithin News from 2017 and 2018, we were giving information on the debate in the media and with the public around transgenic foods in the United States.

That debate has now become a reality in the United States and American companies have deemed non-transgenic foods to be a crucial challenge in their industrial and commercial activity for the next few years.

American consumers are becoming more and more mindful of this material which has triggered demand in the biggest market of the world. Big supermarket chains are now presenting non-GMO product lines and policies.

Furthermore, the trend towards a cleaner food label is driving the change of synthetic emulsifiers for natural ones like specialty functional lecithin, which could potentially be a substitute for synthetic emulsifiers in certain applications like bakery and confections.

 

in LASENOR NEWS Posted by Lasenor
Pastillator 002 1920X1282

LASENOR INTEGRATES THE GRANULATION SYSTEM FOR SYNTHETIC EMULSIFIERS

Lasenor recently installed in its Barcelona plant the granulation system for the manufacturing of any type of synthetic emulsifier pellets.

Concretely, the new industrial technology and equipment installed enable for the manufacturing of synthetic emulsifier pellets with high and medium melting points, synthetic emulsifiers and compounds that are very difficult to make in a flake or powder form (with low melting points).

This manufacturing system in the form of pellets brings about significant advantages compared to the traditional production of synthetic emulsifiers in powder or flake form:

  • No dust is generated when bags are emptied and they can be packed in big bags.
  • Removing the powder is an increasingly appreciated circumstance for certain clients, who are starting to rule out products in this form due the issues they create and choose the pellet format due to its easier and cleaner manipulation.
  • The clients who have tried the product in its pellet form can attest to the improvement in its handling compared to its flake form, due to the fact that it is more efficiently poured into the casting.
  • On an esthetical level, a pellet product has a higher quality appearance compared to flakes, due to a better uniformity and lesser propensity to caking.

The production capacity of this new granulation system is extremely versatile given that, depending on the product’s characteristics, can manufacture between 400 kg /h to 1000 kg/h.

Pastillator 001 683X1092

new industrial technology installed at the Lasenor plant in Barcelona

HIGH QUALITY PELLET MAKER
View Here

new industrial technology installed at the Lasenor plant in Barcelona

HIGH QUALITY PELLET MAKER
Watch Video

High quality pellet maker

In order to install this new industrial equipment, also known as a pellet maker, Lasenor has collaborated with Sandvik, one of the main global providers of granulation systems.

Thanks to its latest generation Rotoform ® technology, the system is extremely flexible, as it can handle a wide range of pellet sizes and temperature profiles, guaranteeing a high quality and uniform final product.

In addition to being extremely efficient from a performance standpoint, the Rotoform ® technology also enables processers to reduce their carbon footprint, given that cooling times are short, energy costs low, and gas emissions kept to a minimum.

The Rotoform® system was the first one used for chemical granulation at the beginning of the 1980s, and has become the standard solution for a wide range of chemical products, given its main characteristics:

  • Hemispherical pellets uniform in size easy to handle and measure.
  • Free flowing product facilitating transportation, mixing, storage and subsequent reprocessing.
  • Hemispherical shape of the product and low friability ensuring a minimum amount of dust.
  • High apparent density and excellent packaging and storing properties.
  • Indirect cooling causing minimal environmental impact.
  • Grinding or crushing unnecessary.
Y5A2081 683X683
in LASENOR NEWS Posted by Lasenor
BK SPONGE 1920X1282

LASENOR® BK, THE NEW EMULSIFIERS FOR CAKE AND BAKERY PRODUCTION

Bakery and patisserie are extremely broad market segments that include an extensive catalog of products which, in turn, are produced and sold in many countries with different local needs and requirements.

However, these market segments lean towards a more industrial production model that calls for a more efficient production process, forcing manufacturers to adapt their recipes in order to be more competitive in such a global market as the current one.

As in many other sectors, bakery and patisserie seek to optimize their production processes, reducing their costs and extending the useful life of their products, but always with the common goal of offering the highest quality in their end product.

To meet these quality standards, it is vital and essential that bakery and patisserie professionals use the best ingredients, food components that make their work easier and provide them with better results.

This is the case of Lasenor® BK, a new range of activated emulsifiers in powder format, created by the R&D+i Department at Lasenor and facilitating the production process for cakes and bakery mixes.

AdobeStock 343396084 683X683

What advantages does Lasenor® BK provide?

In bakery, emulsifiers are often incorporated into the recipe in the form of hydrates or cake gel. However, these emulsifying systems require hydration or pre-treatment, and have certain stability and dosage limitations. Furthermore, they cannot be added as ingredients in powdered bakery mixes used by industry, artisans, or in home cooking.

Those limitations are overcome with Lasenor® BK, which provides:

  • Longer shelf life
  • Easier dosing
  • Increased suitability in bakery mixes and retail products

Another limitation overcome by this new range of emulsifiers involves the effects of egg reduction that many manufacturers are implementing in order to reduce their production costs. If there is a basic and expensive ingredient in almost all cake recipes, that would be the egg. Now, thanks to Lasenor® BK, the main properties of products such as eggs can be preserved while achieving financial profit in their production.

In the attached images, the cake on the left corresponds to a recipe with egg reduction containing Lasenor® BK, while the one on the right is made using the same recipe, but without an emulsifier.

SPONGE COMP
POUND COMP

Another advantage to highlight is that, with Lasenor® BK, all the ingredients can be mixed at the same time in the so-called “all-in” process. Incorporated air is maximized, evenly distributed, and stabilized in the dough during baking, allowing for an even crumb and larger cake volumes.

Fotolia 158956360 XL 600X390

This “all-in ” process also provides the following added benefits in the end product:

  • Bigger volume
  • Increased efficiency
  • Extended softness
  • Improved mouthfeel
  • Finer crumb structure
  • Smoother surface
  • Longer service life

Lasenor® BK

PERFORMANCE IN POUND CAKE
Watch Video

Dose and mixing time

A challenge that Lasenor® BK also solves is the reduction in mixing time, providing an optimized production process and, consequently, lower costs for the manufacturer.

In the image below you can see that, after a few minutes of mixing, the required dough density is obtained. In processes where long mixing times are required, Lasenor® BK shows exceptional functionality to maximize air intake, providing bigger volumes, extended softness, and an improved mouthfeel.

If we compare the dough density curves and the whipping time for different cake recipes in the attached graph, we can see that longer mixing times do not negatively affect product performance, as there is no loss of air in the system.

GR PoundCake 683X435 1
GR PlainCocoa 683X435

Meeting market demands

As a leading company in the production and application of emulsifiers for food, Lasenor develops new products aimed at meeting market demands and improving the manufacturing processes of the products of companies in the sector.

With the launch of Lasenor® BK, our company offers an innovative solution in the field of food emulsifiers to one of the most important challenges that bakery and patisserie shops currently face at an industrial level. And with the highest quality and maximum financial performance!

Discover our bread improvers and bakery solutions!

in LASENOR NEWS Posted by Lasenor
FSSCBRAZIL 1920X1282 1

LASENOR BRAZIL ACHIEVES THE FSSC22000 CERTIFICATION

Always in a will of maintaining the highest quality standard possible within all the Group, Lasenor decided to initiate the Food Safety System Certification in its different factories. For that reason, Lasenor is now proud to announce that LASENOR BRASIL, based in Potim, Sao Paulo State, has obtained the FSSC22000 certification.

Always in a will of maintaining the highest quality standard possible within all the Group, Lasenor decided to initiate the Food Safety System Certification in its different factories. For that reason, Lasenor is now proud to announce that LASENOR BRASIL, based in Potim, Sao Paulo State, has obtained the FSSC22000 certification.

RINA BRAZIL auditing team had proceeded with Food Safety management system certification assessment in January, 20 until 22th, 2020. With only two little no conformities detected, and already fixed, the Lasenor Brazil team achieves with success the FSSC22000 certification.

The success of this process allows Lasenor Brazil to penetrate the market even where high quality standards are required. CONGRATULATION to the entire team!

in QUALITY Posted by Lasenor
XOCOLATADA 1920X1282

“XOCOLATADA SOLIDARIA” DRINKING-CHOCOLATE SOLIDARITY FEAST

The “Xocolatada Solidaria” (Drinking-Chocolate Solidarity Feast) collects more than 400.000 € that will be used for the investigation of childhood cancer.

9 non-profit associations, including Mua Solidaris (sponsored by Lasenor), have organized 900 “Xocolatades Solidàries” (Drinking-Chocolate Solidarity Feasts) all over Spain.

In a joint effort of Non-profit organizations, schools, social entities, private companies, participants and sponsors, more than 400.000 € have been collected and have been donated for 4 research projects projects on childhood cancer and 1 assistance project in the Integrative Pediatric Oncology Unit of the Hospital Sant Joan de Déu in Barcelona.

Xocolatada Solidaria 2018
in COMMITMENT Posted by Lasenor
GULFOOD19 1920X1282

LASENOR EXHIBITS IN GULFOOD MANUFACTURING 2019 – DUBAI

Lasenor attends Gulfood Manufacturing in Dubai as exhibitor between the 29th and the 31th of October.

Meet our team and discover the latest news about our food emulsifiers specialities and their applications. We will be honoured to meet you there. You are warmly welcome in our booth S2.D23.

Captura de Pantalla 2020 12 15 a las 11.34.52 p. m.
in GLOBALIZATION Posted by Lasenor
AURIA 1920X1282

LASENOR PROMOTING THE LABOR INTEGRATION OF DISABLED PERSONS

Lasenor signs a work placement agreement with Fundació Àuria to support people with disabilities and/or mental disease with guidance, while promoting their inclusion in the labor market.

Fundació Àuria is a Foundation for Labor Inclusion located in the vicinity of Lasenor’s HQ. Its goal is the creation of working places for people with disabilities and/or mental deaseases.

LOGO AURIA 600X390
in COMMITMENT Posted by Lasenor