Equipment manufacturer Baker Perkins and gelatin supplier Rousselot have worked together to reduce setting times for gelatin gummies to as little as 15 min. The starch-free process brings cost, quality, regulatory compliance and innovation advantages to the burgeoning healthcare confectionery market.

ummies and jellies are increasingly used to deliver a variety of functional ingredients including vitamins, minerals, fibre, protein, Omega-3, probiotics and energy supplements. They appeal to customers looking to boost their intake of essential nutrients, but who prefer to do so in a non-pharmaceutical format. Gummies and jellies are particularly effective in the children’s supplement market because of their palatability.

Particularly in the vitamin supplement and nutraceutical markets, starch-free depositing is replacing the starch mogul as the process of choice for gummy and jelly production. A big problem for producers of healthcare gummies and jellies is that the starch mogul process brings with it the risk of cross-contamination of the active ingredients.

Starch-free depositing overcomes this, while Baker Perkins’ and Rousselot’s development work to reduce setting times also reduces capital and operating costs significantly. This has been achieved through a combination of Rousselot’s innovative new SiMoGel gelatin, especially formulated for starch-free depositing, and Baker Perkins’ ServoForm depositors and cooking systems.

The development has focussed on being able to remove the products from the moulds in the shortest possible time. A number of factors contribute to this, particularly that the syrup is deposited at final solids. This not only promotes rapid setting of Rousselot’s special SiMoGel formulation but also reduces the need for energy-intensive stoving or drying associated with the starch process, further strengthening the economic case for starch-free processing.

Setting times for gelatin gummies with additives have been reduced to as low as 15 min, although this can vary with the specific recipe, additives and final product characteristics required. To allow the product to achieve final texture and moisture, some additional resting and/or drying time may be necessary, yet it is significantly less than with a mogul line.

The new solution is not an “off the shelf” process. Every system is unique, especially in the healthcare industry, and trials are essential. A full range of test equipment along with expert process support is available in the Baker Perkins Innovation Centre. Baker Perkins supplies systems with outputs from 30 kg/h up to 1,000 kg/h.

The company also works closely with suppliers of other high-performance gelling agents, including pectin and carrageenan, on quick-set processes. These enable manufacturers to benefit from starch-free depositing across the full range of jelly and gummy textures.