Learn everything about the production and applications of gum acacia and agar agar!
GUM Acacia
Gum Acacia (Gum Arabic) is a natural raw material from plant origin. It is obtained from the exudate of acacia species naturally growing in the “Gum-Belt” region of Africa.
Gum Acacia is a natural hydrocolloid with polyvalent properties for a wide range of industrial applications. It is used as a film-building agent or surface-protective colloid, it also has outstanding binding, emulsifying and stabilizing properties. Furthermore, it is a natural food-grade adhesive as well as an encapsulating agent.
Norevo has been involved in the sourcing, trade and processing of Gum Acacia for more than 100 years and belongs to the leading producers of this natural hydrocolloid on a worldwide scale. Norevo offers Gum Acacia in kosher, halal and organic certified qualities.
APPLICATIONS
Confectionery
Texturizer, barrier & film-building agent, coating agent. Used in gums, jellies, pastilles, chewy toffees and pan-coated products.
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Beverages & Flavours
Emulsifier, suspending and stabilizing agent for soft drinks, smoothies, cocktails. Carrier and encapsulating agent for flavoured emulsion concentrates and spray- dried flavor powders.
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Fine food
Emulsifier, binder, suspending and stabilizing agent for dairies, desserts, dressings, dips, sauces.
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OENOLOGY & BEER PRODUCTS
Clearing and stabilizing agent for wines (oenology). Stabilizing and emulsifying agent in beer-mix beverages.
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Cosmetic
Emulsifier, stabilizer, thickener, binder, texturizer or creams, lotions, masks and decorative cosmetics.
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PHARMACEUTICALS
Film-building and coating agent, binder, thickener for pills, pastilles, dragées, capsules. Stabilizer for medical suspensions and emulsions.
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TECHNICAL APPLICATIONS
Emulsifier, suspending and stabilizing agent for inks, colours, encapsulating agent for pigment powders. Adhesive for pyrotechnic articles and cigarette paper.
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QUALITIES
Quick Gum
Norevo’s brand of purified, homogenized and quick-soluble Gum Acacia powder. Quick Gum is available in standardized and tailor-made qualities, offering and easy dosage, handling and storage.
MECHANICAL POWDER
Ground Gum Acacia in powder form obtained from Acacia senegal and Acacia seyal.
PIECES OR GRANULES
Gum Acacia in pieces or granulated qualities obtained from Acacia senegal or Acacia seyal.
KEY FACTS ABOUT GUM ACACIA
ORIGIN
Gum Acacia is the gummy exudate of acacia species naturally growing in Africa and mostly coming from the geographic „Gum Belt“ region that stretches across the continent from Nigeria to Ethiopia and Somalia south of Sahara desert. The main supply countries are Sudan, Chad, Nigeria.
COMMERCIAL NAMES
| Origin | Acacia senegal | Acacia seyal |
|---|---|---|
| Sudan | Hashab / Kordofan | Talha |
| Chad | Kitir / Gomme Dure | Friable |
| Nigeria | Grade 1 | Grade 2 |
PRODUCT & SOURCING
ACACIA
There are over 2.000 species of acacia trees. However, only 2 acacia species give the genuine Gum Acacia according to the international food additive standards: Acacia senegal (Grade 1) and Acacia seyal (Grade 2).
HARVEST
To harvest the gum, the bark of the Acacia trees is cut (“tapping”), the resin comes out as little tears or drops. The exudate dries up at the air and is then manually harvested. There are 2 tappings per season in December and March.
DRIED RESIN
After the harvest, the Gum Acacia tears are still soft and have to dry under the sun before the sorting, packing, storage, transport and export.
PROCESSING BY NOREVO
GRANULATING / MILLING
The raw Gum Acacia pieces are processed by and in Norevo´s production units near Hamburg (Germany).
PULVERIZING
The Gum Acacia is dissolved in water, purified (by sieving and centrifugation), pasteurized, and finally transformed into standardized powders through our company-own drying process.
QUALITY CONTROL
Norevo’s Quality Assurance department and laboratory supervise the entire production process, carrying out regular quality checks to ensure the product safety and the classification of our Gum Acacia qualities according to their functionalities and applications.
Agar Agar
Agar agar is a hot-water-soluble hydrocolloid, a natural gelling agent and thickener with high gelstrength levels that allow for the preparation of highly stable and thermoreversible gels for food applications and other industrial uses.
As a worldwide specialist in agar agar, Norevo has a thorough knowledge of the product, its geographical growing areas and its gelling properties that determine the application possibilities of agar agar in food and non-food sectors. Cooperating closely with Setexam, the leading Moroccan Agar specialist, Norevo provides various grades of agar agar and certified-organic agar along with an outstanding technical and scientific support.
APPLICATIONS
CONFECTIONERY
Gel-building, thickening and texturizing agent for jellified candies, angel kisses, fruit jellies and fillings, meringues, marshmallows, ice-creams. Applicable for the production of vegan and vegetarian sweets.
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Pharmaceuticals
Bacteriological agar for the microbiology and dental technics.
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FOOD
Jellifying, thickening and texturizing agent for pudding, desserts, sauces, preserves, pâtés, meat/fish in aspik, and fine food. Applicable for the production of vegan and vegetarian food stuffs.
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COSMETIC
Thickening and jellifying agent for cosmetics and lotions.
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key facts about agar agar
ORIGIN
Agar agar is the ground and purified extract of red seaweeds (bot. species Rhodophyceae, fam. Gelidium and Gracilaria). Gelidium seaweeds mostly grow on the atlantic coastline of Morocco and are harvested manually by professional divers whereas the largest producing regions of Gracilaria seaweeds are found in Asia and Chile, where they can also be cultivated in shallow waters and are therefore easier to collect.
PRODUCT & SOURCING
Production
Our supply partner, Setexam, is established in Kenitra, near the main agar agar harvesting region on the Atlantic coast of Morocco.
Qualities
Norevo‘s supply partner for Moroccan agar agar and certified-organic agar is equipped to extract the seaweeds and produces a full range of agar agar qualities with standardized gelstrength, both for food grade and pharma grade.
Gelling
Agar agar solutions have to be heated up. The thermoreversible agar-gel is obtained by cooling the solution down to abt. 35°C. Heated up again, the gel melts at abt. 85°C and jellifies again when cooled down.
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We answer all your questions regarding our raw materials and provide advisory support for your product development.