Emulsifier mechanisms in confectionery applications

制作巧克力是一个非常复杂的过程。加拿大亿滋（Cadbury, Toblerone， Caramilk巧克力和许多其他糖果产品的制造商）依靠乳化剂来控制巧克力的生产过程，从而实现巧克力的许多理想品质。乳化剂通过使熔融巧克力更具流动性，减少最终产品中所需的可可脂量，从而降低成本，从而帮助生产者。卵磷脂作为一种常用的巧克力乳化剂已经有几十年的历史了，最近合成乳化剂因其独特的性能而备受关注。事实上，生产商通过组合不同类型的乳化剂发现了协同效应。然而，这些合成乳化剂让消费者感到不快，尤其是那些关注天然食品选择的消费者。亿滋和其他生产商希望取代这些合成乳化剂，但前提是能够找到合适的、天然的、标签友好的替代品，并在操作中表现良好。*****为了开始取代巧克力和糖果生产中的合成乳化剂，需要对现有乳化剂在糖果应用中的作用模式进行系统和彻底的了解，这是迄今为止尚未开展的工作。在这个项目中，亿滋加拿大公司和瑞尔森大学将合作建立详细的了解，并利用这些新知识创建一个工具箱，最终用标签友好的替代品取代合成乳化剂。先进的成像和分析技术的结合将用于详细了解现有乳化剂如何对巧克力产生影响，以便将来发现和开发类似的替代品。

Making chocolate is a surprisingly complex process. Mondelez Canada (the makers of Cadbury, Toblerone, and Caramilk chocolates and many other confectionery products) relies on emulsifiers to control the chocolate production process so that the many desirable qualities of chocolate can be achieved. Emulsifiers assist producers by making molten chocolate more flowable, and by decreasing the amount of cocoa butter required in the final product, thereby reducing costs. Lecithin has been a commonly used chocolate emulsifier for decades, and recently synthetic emulsifiers have risen to prominence with unique properties. Indeed, producers have found synergistic effects by combining different types of emulsifiers. However, these synthetic emulsifiers are off-putting to consumers, especially those focused on natural food choices. Mondelez and other producers wish to replace these synthetic emulsifiers, but only if suitable, natural-origin, label-friendly replacements can be identified that perform as well in operations.*****In order to begin replacing synthetic emulsifiers in chocolate and confectionery production, a systematic and thorough understanding of the mode of action of existing emulsifiers in confectionery applications is required, something that has not been undertaken until now. In this project, Mondelez Canada and Ryerson University will collaborate to establish this detailed understanding and use this new knowledge to create a toolbox for the eventual replacement of synthetic emulsifiers with label-friendly replacements. A combination of advanced imaging and analytical techniques will be used to learn in detail how existing emulsifiers exert their effect on chocolate so that comparable replacements can be discovered and developed in the future.