Food

Enzymes are specialized proteins that act as catalysts to speed up a specific reaction. In most cases, enzymes used in food are used as processing aids where they aid in the manufacturing of food or food ingredients, but do not have a function in the final food product.

Enzymes have played an important part in food production for centuries. Today, nearly all commercially prepared foods contain at least one ingredient that has been made with enzymes. Some examples of typical enzyme applications are listed below.

Baking

Enzymes can be used in baked goods to reduce dependence on some traditional, less desirable ingredients while maintaining the desirable characteristics of the baked goods throughout shelf life.  This also allows for simplified ingredient lists on the final food label.

Below are examples of enzymes used in baking and the benefits they provide.

  • Provides fermentable and reducing sugars;
    • intensifies flavors and crust color by enhancing browning and caramelization
    • extend oven rise/spring and improve product volume
    • act as crumb softeners by inhibiting staling
  • Dough improvements:
    • accelerate yeast fermentation and boost gassing for optimum dough expansion
    • reduce dough/batter viscosity
    • reducing stickiness
  • Delivers crumb softness and crumb elasticity

  • Allows for the reduction in use of bromate
  • Used to strengthen the gluten network to improve loaf volume and oven spring, and can be used to reduce dependence on other oxidizing agents

  • Degrades or modifies nonpolar and polar lipids which strengthens gluten effect which in turn, results in a more stable dough and a better crumb structure (similar to emulsifiers)
  • Improves dough handling properties and increases loaf volume
different kinds of bread

Dairy

In the dairy industry, enzymes are required for production of cheeses, yogurt, and other dairy products. Enzymes can also be used in a more specialized fashion to improve texture, flavor, or digestibility in dairy products. Four of the more common types of enzymes and their role in the dairy industry are described below.

Rennet and lipase, two key cheese enzymes, traditionally have been obtained through animal derived origins. Modern biotechnology has provided, consistent, and cost-effective microbial versions that allow cheesemakers to meet the demands of consumption.

a variety of dairy products

  • Used to coagulate milk
  • Cheese makers are no longer dependent on animal derived sources.
  • Reliable, high quality microbial enzymes can help address demand

  • Controls the production of undesirable fermentations during the aging process which would produce off-flavors in the cheese
  • Used in production of long aged cheeses

  • Used to catalyze the hydrolysis of fats
  • Allows for wide variety of flavors in cheese and other dairy products

  • Breaks down lactose into simple sugars
  • Allows for lactose intolerant individuals to enjoy the nutritional benefits of dairy products
  • Can enhance texture in dairy products

Brewing

Enzymes play a significant role in the brewing industry where they can assist brewers year-round despite fluctuations in raw material quality and prices.

Specialized enzymes can optimize the brewing process which can support decreased energy consumption. Below are some examples of brewing enzymes and where they are used in the brewing process.

brewing diagram

  • Amylases, cellulases, xylanases, and proteases
    • These enzymes can be used to break down grain cell walls, release amino acids and break down starches to fermentable sugars.

  • Glucoamylase, xylanase, cellulase, amylase, lipase, betaglucanase
    • Added during mashing or fermentation to increase or facilitate the production of fermentable sugars, facilitate the mash filtration, speed up the maturation process, and decrease the amount of carbohydrates in final products.
  • Acetolactate decarboxylase (ALDC)
    • Used to prevent the formation of diacetyl off-flavors.

  • Beta-glucanase and xylanase
    • Filtration enzymes such as these can be used to achieve consistent and high-speed wort filtration which can increase capacity and eliminate production variations due to varying quality of raw materials.

Food and Nutrition (“processing”)

Enzymes can be used in various processing applications in the food industry. Below are a few examples of Enzyme applications used in food and nutrition processing.

Grain Processing

different kinds of grain

Syrups are made from the starch of different grains and are used as ingredients in a variety of different beverage and food products. Glucoamylases, for example, are especially used for production of glucose syrup by degrading starch polysaccharides into glucose.

  • Used to increase the glucose and maltose yield for starch processing.

Aids in the separation of grains into the germ, starch, gluten and fiber components.

Provides a smooth and efficient processing of grain, enables separation of the grain structures and ensures quality polysaccharide and gluten fractions.

Oilseed Processing

Allows for various manufacturing processes such as extracting vegetable oils in an aqueous process, in ester synthesis, in degumming of oils and in enzymatic interesterification generating oils and fats with controlled melting temperatures without the formation of trans fatty acids.

Oil seed image

Fruit and Vegetable Processing

fruits and vegetables and juice

Aids in the breakdown of pectin by catalyzing the hydrolysis of glycosidic bonds in pectin polymers. Pectin consists of a complex set of polysaccharides that are present in most primary cell walls and particularly abundant in fruits and vegetables. In juices, pectinases aid in the degradation of pectin leading to increased concentration of juice, increased cloud stability of the clear concentrate. For wine, pectinases in combination with other enzymes can reduce haze.

Allows for the breakdown of hemicellulose by cleaving the Xylan backbone found in hemicellulose. The breakdown of hemicellulose is important for the maceration process during fruit and vegetable juice processing used to increase juice extraction yield. Xylanase can also be used for decreasing the cloudiness and both juice and wine.

Aids in the breakdown of beta D-glucans into smaller oligosaccharide units. Beta glucanase assists other enzymes in degrading the cell walls in fruits and vegetables resulting in softening. In the production of fruit juices and wine, beta glucanase promotes enhanced filtration of the juice or wine concentrate.

Considered to be an enzyme complex containing enzymes such as xylanase and cellulase. Hemicellulases allow for the breakdown of hemicellulose which is an important component of plant cell walls found in fruits and vegetables.  Hemicellulases can be used to increase juice extraction and for decreasing the cloudiness and both juice and wine.

Plant derived protease such as Papain and Bromelain aid other enzymes such as pectinase and cellulase in the softening of the fruit by breakdown of cell walls. They can also be used to create protein hydrolysates which are used for strengthening juices and other beverages.

Protein Processing

Allows for the breakdown of proteins by catalyzing the hydrolysis of peptide bonds. Proteases are added during the hydrolysis step in the production of animal, fish, vegetable, dairy, or plant-based protein (e.g., soy).

Allows for the catalyzing of cross-links between different protein molecules. In the meat industry transglutaminase is used for the production of restructured meat. In addition, the production of protein transglutaminase aids in improving the texture of meat by increasing hardness.

protein foods

Other Applications

chicken eggs

Glucose oxidase assists in preventing the browning effect in eggs caused by the Maillard reaction by removing glucose. In the Maillard reaction glucose and protein (or amino acids) react together to give unstable compounds which react further to produce coloured, off flavoured and insoluble products.

Asparaginase allows for the breakdown of asparagine to aspartic acid and ammonia.  Asparaginase is able to reduce the ability for acrylamide to form in baked and fried food applications.

  • Aminopeptidase aids in the conversion of insoluble proteins used in the processing of yeast. The end product of the conversion results in a soluble version of the protein which the yeast can use as food.
  • Deaminase increases the flavor of foods with the addition of yeast. The enzyme introduces increased flavor through its enzymatic reaction by catalyzing the conversion of AMP (adenoside 5’-monophosphate) to IMP (inosine 5’ monophosphate) also known as umami flavor.

Also known as AMP deaminase, the enzyme aids in increasing the flavor of foods with the addition of yeast. The enzyme introduces increased flavor through its enzymatic reaction by catalyzing the conversion of AMP (adenoside 5’-monophosphate) to IMP (inosine 5’ monophosphate) or otherwise considered as umami flavor.

For more information about food enzymes and how they are regulated view the documents below or view the links in our links tab:

Food Allergen Information

For information about enzymes and food allergens, read the following document: