What is the application of the food additive sodium gluconate in the food industry?

Sodium gluconate has the molecular formula C6H11O7Na and molecular weight 218.14.In food industry, sodium gluconate is used as a food additive to impart acidity, enhance the flavor of food, prevent protein denaturation, improve undesirable bitter and astringent tastes, and to replace salt to obtain low-sodium, sodium-free foods.

Currently, research on sodium gluconate by home workers has focused on the maturation of the production and preparation process and the reduction of production costs.
Nowadays, sodium gluconate is widely used in food processing industry as a food additive with good performance. It is also widely used as a nutritional supplement, food preservative, quality improver and buffer, which can be classified into the following categories according to the different uses of food:
Sodium gluconate regulates the acidity of food
The addition of acid to foods enhances food safety, as acid is the main form of protection against microbial contamination in refrigerated foods, and the use of acid in combination with high temperature or high hydrostatic pressure processing reduces energy consumption and thus costs.
However, the addition of acids to food or beverage formulations usually reduces palatability because of the high acidity, which limits the ability of the food industry to better utilize acids as preservatives.Sodium gluconate was formulated into sodium salt mixtures (with the addition of sodium chloride and sodium acetate, respectively) and then acted on citric, lactic, and malic acids, respectively, and it was found that the sodium gluconate mixtures had a moderate acidity (pH 4.4) inhibitory effect on the acidity of citric and malic acids (pH 4.4), but had almost no effect on the acidity of lactic acid.
Sodium gluconate modulated the pH in citric and malic acids, thereby effectively reducing the acidity without producing an overly salty taste, indicating that sodium gluconate significantly inhibited the acidity of citric and malic acids at relatively high acid levels. In the food industry, sodium gluconate is widely used in the beverage industry to ensure the quality of beverages, as well as to protect against the destruction of beverage ingredients caused by excessively high temperatures resulting from conventional sterilization methods, and to conserve energy.
Sodium gluconate replaces salt in the food industry
Relevant studies have shown that China’s per capita salt intake is several times higher than the world’s average per capita intake level, and that high levels of sodium ions in the body can lead to chronic diseases such as high blood pressure and high blood cholesterol. While focusing on the standard of living and the health of diseases, low-salt food has attracted widespread attention and become a hot spot in the food industry.
Studies have shown that the sodium content of daily salt is four times that of sodium gluconate, which has a sodium molecular weight of only 10.5%. Compared with commonly used low-sodium salt, sodium gluconate has little difference in flavor, but has the advantages of non-irritation, no bitter and astringent taste, and has become a substitute for salt in practical applications.
Currently, it is mainly used in the food sector, such as salt-free products and bread. Studies have reported the use of sodium gluconate instead of salt for bread fermentation, which not only allows for the fermentation of low-sodium bread, but also achieves salt reduction without affecting its overall flavor and shelf life.
Sodium gluconate improves food flavor
In the food industry, the flavor of food is an important indicator in sensory evaluation. In recent years, it has been found that sodium gluconate can improve the bitter flavor, and sodium gluconate salt has different degrees of inhibition of bitter compounds and their binary combinations of substances.
Different doses of sodium gluconate and zinc lactate were applied to caffeine and found to be able to inhibit caffeine bitterness. The above studies indicate that sodium gluconate has a modulating effect on bitter flavor substances.
In addition, it has been reported that the addition of a certain amount of sodium gluconate in the processing of meat products can better improve the soybean odor in soybean products. Some studies have found that. In the processing of seafood, a certain amount of sodium gluconate is usually added to reduce the fish odor and improve the appetite of food, and the cost is cheaper compared to the traditional way of covering.
Sodium gluconate can improve food quality
With the continuous improvement of living standards, people’s requirements for food are getting higher and higher. As a new type of food additive, sodium gluconate not only improves the flavor of food, but also enhances the nutritional properties of food.
Compared with many food additives in the market, its non-toxic and harmless performance has become its biggest highlight. The role of sodium gluconate as a calcium lactate crystal inhibitor in cheddar cheese was found to increase the solubility of calcium lactate and regulate the pH value of cheddar cheese, so sodium gluconate has the potential to increase the solubility of calcium and lactate, and to prevent them from forming calcium lactate crystals through the formation of soluble complexes with the calcium and lactate ions, not only to ensure its nutrition, but also improve the quality of cheddar cheese.
Treating kelp with sodium gluconate in a dip increases its alginate content, leading to a softer surface and improved texture. Sodium gluconate also has protein denaturation inhibition and myofibrillar proteolysis. Adding sodium gluconate to minced fish, the gel strength of the gel after heating was significantly improved compared with that without sodium gluconate, so sodium gluconate was able to improve the quality of minced fish products.