Ever on the lookout, we are, for that je ne sais quoi to make us feel better about eating industrial food. And this morning we have it!
It's called Ticaloid GE 306, and you're seeing it go into that glass of water. Ticaloid is a replacement for industrial guar gum, you see, a substance that thickens your beverage. Thank you for sending this, TIC! Without you, I would never have realized now important your new technology is to the mouthfeel of my instant lemonade.
"There are many uses for guar gum outside the food and beverage business, principally requirements from the oil and gas industry," the news release from TIC informs me. "As different types of drilling incorporate guar gum in their processes, availability of this finite resource is further constrained."
(Comprehensability is not the strong suit of tech writers, but TIC Gums is not simply a single-product gum supplier.)
At any rate, the demand for guar gum is up over 200% compared to 2010 and tight availability will continue in the immediate future. "The guar gum supply challenge in 2011 was shaped by both raw material availability and the industry's production capacity to manage such a sudden and significant increase in demand, said Gregory C. (Greg) Andon, president of TIC Gums. "There is a 'bottleneck' around the overall guar industry's manufacturing capacity, which will remain a challenge no matter what happens to the availability of guar seeds. The bottom line is that without a reduction in demand, 2012 supply limits and historically high prices are still expected."
Thanks for that glimpse into the future, Greg.
The news release concludes: "Ticaloid GE 306 actually improves the overall mouth feel of instant lemonade because the thickness is slightly greater than that accomplished using only guar. This blend of ingredients, still containing reduced levels of guar, is cold water soluble and has comparable qualities of 100% guar gum. Ticaloid® GE 306 provides a clean flavor profile and improved mouth feel over guar gum."
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