Soaring egg prices are causing industrial cake manufacturers to rethink their choice of emulsifier. Palsgaard® SA products aim at both reducing costs and achieving consistently high performance.
Eggs have been used in cakes for thousands of years. As well as providing stability, structure, aeration, moisture and emulsification, they improve mouthfeel, color and taste. However, these benefits come at a rising price. In addition to the inflationary pressures affecting the whole food industry, egg costs have soared because of bird flu, demand for free range, and high grain costs. In March 2022, wholesale prices in the US reached their second-highest level ever, up nearly 200% from 2021. In some European countries, they are expected to triple.
This is a major issue in industrial cake production, where eggs can account for as much as 30% of the recipe. “There’s been a snowball effect,” says Christophe Lequet, Senior Application Specialist for Bakery at Palsgaard. “Demand is higher, freight costs are higher, grain prices are higher – everything is higher. Eggs are the most expensive part of a cake recipe; of course, that’s having a major impact.” The situation is so serious that it is starting to make national headlines. In a recent interview on French TV, an industrial cake producer said the price he pays for eggs rose from EUR 1 per liter to EUR 3 within weeks.
Saving costs: Palsgaard® SA
The amount of egg needed in a cake recipe depends largely on the choice of emulsifier. Traditional cake gels, which are typically based on monoglycerides, can perform well on aeration but poorly on stability, meaning that more egg is needed. Palsgaard® SA is a sophisticated alternative that overcomes this challenge while offering many other benefits. Designed for industrial applications, it is based not on monoglycerides, but on polyglycerol esters (PGEs) of fatty acids (E475). The ‘go-to’ product in the range is the versatile Palsgaard® SA 6610, while similar products Palsgaard® SA 6600 and Palsgaard® SA 6615 are alternatives for manufacturers who want different technical properties or palm-free options.
In addition to aeration, all the products in the range provide stability because of the hydrophilic properties of PGEs. “That’s the big secret,” says Lequet. “We’re compensating for the problems that would arise if eggs are taken out. Palsgaard® SA can take over, and even improve on, many of the functional properties of eggs.”
By switching to Palsgaard® SA, manufacturers can reduce the amount of egg needed in their recipes by an average of around 20%, depending on the type of product and the baseline amount, the company says. This means that in a normal cake where egg typically accounts for 20% of the recipe, it will be lowered to 16% when using Palsgaard® SA.
At the moment, this translates to a cost reduction of around 5% which, according to Lequet’s calculations, could allow a manufacturer producing 5,000 MT of cakes per year to achieve annual savings of more than EUR 200,000. He expects these figures to further rise: “The more eggs go up in price, the bigger the savings will be.”
Performance benefits
These savings do not come at the cost of performance. “As well as aeration and whipping properties, Palsgaard® SA provides great stability and resistance to mechanical treatment,” explains Lequet. “It’s unique from that perspective – some bakers tell us that they don’t really trust gels for stability, so they add more egg to be on the safe side.” Palsgaard® SA can also answer production challenges: as a free-flowing powdered product, it is easy to dose and handle, and disperses quickly during pre-mixing, the company details. This means fewer mixing steps, making operators’ lives easier, increasing production efficiency and bringing additional cost savings.
Another benefit of this egg replacer is consistency. “If I buy a cake today, and the same one tomorrow, I expect it to be the same,” says Lequet. “With Palsgaard® SA, there are no variations between batches as those associated with cake gel. We recently had a visitor from a company that had made the switch. We asked if he’d seen any difference and he said, ‘Yes, actually! Most of the unexplained problems we had have completely disappeared.’ So, all those mysterious little issues, those readjustments manufacturers have to make, are gone. And as things are running more smoothly, that means less re-work and also fewer product recalls and rejects.”
Palsgaard recently asked a sensory panel to sample a cake made with SA. Despite the egg content having been reduced significantly, none of the panelists reported a loss of flavor. There are other benefits too. Palsgaard® SA has a typical shelf-life of 18 months – longer than cake gels, which are highly temperature-sensitive – and can be kept in stackable pallets, increasing storage capacity.
It also ticks several boxes for consumers: it is plant-based, allergen-free and GMO-free, and – with only one e-number (compared to four in the typical cake gel) – it qualifies as a lean-label solution. It is also sugar-free and combines well with oil, helping manufacturers swap out saturated fat and create better-for-you recipes.
The case for change
“Manufacturers are generally open to solutions that help them keep costs under control,” Lequet observes. “But, they can also have reasons for not doing it. They might be reluctant to change a recipe that’s been used for years or to update labeling. There are strong counterarguments against all of those. Not having to handle cake gel can make life a lot easier for a line operator, and a change in packaging can be significat with the benefits of a fresh, lean label offering. So, it’s not just about the cost savings. There are many other benefits from both a production and a business point of view.”
Expert technical support
“To start using Palsgaard® SA, there is no need for anything special,” Christophe says. “It can be added along with all the other powder ingredients, so a manufacturer doesn’t need to invest in any additional equipment.” But, although the process is simple, Palsgaard can advise customers on any recalculations they might need to make. “We don’t change the recipe, we just help balance it,” he explains. “Depending on what works best for our customers, we can offer advice through virtual meetings, or physically on the production site.”
If further assistance is required, it can be done at Palsgaard’s six global application centers – in Denmark, Turkey, Mexico, Brazil, Singapore and China. Each provides know-how on regional products and ingredients. Palsgaard also has a complete industrial bakery and can run full-scale trials.
