Sodium stearoyl lactylate
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Sodium stearoyl lactate (and the similar calcium stearoyl lactate) is an organic compound used as a food additive (E-481) in the List of food additives, Codex Alimentarius.
It is produced by first esterifying lactic acid to produce a lactic acid ester, performing a second esterification with stearic acid, and then reacting the result with sodium hydroxide or calcium hydroxide to make the sodium or calcium salt. It is used as an emulsifier in processed foods.
Replacing the lactic acid with fumaric acid gives sodium stearoyl fumarate, a compound with the same uses as the other two.
Practically speaking, it should be understood that the commercially available food additive is not composed of chemically pure stearoyl-2-lactylate. Rather, the lactic acid esterification produces a variety of polylactyls (typically numbering from one to three lactyl groups), while the chain length of the acyl fatty acid may also vary from 14 to 22 carbons, thus including palmitic and arachidic acid.
[edit] Applications
Sodium stearoyl-2-lactylate is an emulsifier with a very high hydrophilic-lipophilic balance (HLB) and is therefore an excellent emulsifier for fat-in-water emulsions. It also functions as a humectant. It finds widespread application in baked goods, liqueurs, cereals, chewing gum, desserts, and powdered beverage mixes. Stearoyl-2-lactylates are found in the majority of manufactured breads, buns, wraps and tortillas, and many similar bread-based products.[citation needed] Because of its efficiency as an emulsifier, it is possible to use less of it than other similar additives; for example, it can be used in quantities only a tenth as large as soya-based emulsifiers.
[edit] Health and Safety
Current applications are generally not restricted for health and safety reasons with regards to traditional uses of this emulsifier. Dietary studies in rats and dogs found no effect when this additive constituted less than 2.5% of the diet. The approximate LD50 was found to be 30g/kg for rats - which would correspond to an intake of nearly 2 kilograms for an adult man.
