Frontline Food Consultants and Engineers is a team of food technologists, F&B consultants, and industry experts who assist our clients in manufacturing the pure extracts of fruits, herbs or any other food ingredients. These products demand special extraction processes and concentration procedures to obtain the best taste and efficacy of compounds. Our expertise makes sure that your extracts and concentrates are always effective, tasty and align with your food and beverages processing.

We provide consultancy in Extraction Techniques: cold pressing, distillation, and solvent extraction methods where the flavors and nutrients are preserved. Furthermore, we focus on Concentration Processes such as evaporation or freeze drying that enable the achievement of the right concentration and stability of products. Our services include Concept Creation, Recipe Formulation, Sensory Evaluation, and regulatory compliance.

What are Extracts and Concentrates? 

Extracts are preparations that are obtained by filtering out some part of a given material like fruits and vegetables, herbs, or spices. The first step in making extracts and concentrates is the choice of the starting material, fruits, herbs, spices or plants etc for extraction. Depending on the type of extract or concentrate, raw material is crushed, chopped, or not subjected to this or that kind of processing.

Some of the methods get used in extraction may be cold pressing in which mechanical pressure is applied to release juices and oily substances or solvent extraction in which liquid solvent is used to dissolve the desired compounds. Another is distillation, especially for essential oils where the raw material is heated and the vapors are condensed to get the pure substance.

After the extract is produced, it can then undergo a concentration process to increase the level of the flavor or active ingredients. This could entail removing the liquid through evaporation to affect the volume, but keeping the required compounds in the recipe or using the freeze-drying method to remove moisture but retain flavor, and nutrient value among others. The last thing is that the final product is kept in a filtration process, as per the requirement that is essential for solids or any impurities, and finally, the product is kept in air tight pack, for it to have its shelf life and its strength.

CO2 Extraction in Food Extracts and Concentrates

Carbon dioxide extraction or sc-CO2 extraction is an enhanced technique to obtain pure and the most effective concentrate and essence. This process entails the treatment of raw materials with high-pressure and low-temperature CO2 to consequential yields of key compounds. The CO2 when working as a solvent dissolves certain constituents without applying heat which degrades other ingredients.

Benefits of CO2 Extraction:

  • Purity and Quality: CO2 extraction results in very potent extracts with no toxic solvents, which makes it applicable to the food and application industry.
  • Retention of Nutrients and Flavors: Because of low exerted temperatures, it does not alter the original taste, smell, and nutritional value of the raw materials.
  • Environmental and Safety Considerations: CO2 is inert, nontoxic and nonflammable which makes the extraction process safe for the environment. The CO2 used can also be recycled making it an environmental jewel to implementation.

Applications of CO2 Extracts in Food:

  • Essential Oils and Flavors: CO2 extraction is used for creating high-quality of essential oils and flavor extracts from herbs; spices and fruits.
  • Nutraceuticals and Supplements: It is also applied for the extraction of bioactive compounds in preparation for the manufacture of diets, supplements and products referred to as nutraceuticals.
  • Food Preservation: Such food flavors such as CO2 extracts can also work as natural food and nutraceutical stabilizers that help increase food product shelf stability while preserving their original taste and nutrient value.

This paper focuses on the Production Process of Extracts and Concentrates. 

The Extraction and concentrates follow a process to provide more efficiency in meeting the intended flavors and nutritional values.

Extraction

  • Solvent Extraction: The raw material is swelled in a solvent including alcohol, water, oil, and other solvents with the aim of dissolving the sought components. The solvent is then removed, this leaves the bottom containing the concentrated extract.
  • Cold Pressing: This process comprises the application of mechanical pressure on the raw material to remove the juice or oil and exclude the application of heat to retain flavor and nutritional value.
  • Steam Distillation: Although also included under extraction, steam distillation applies steam to raw material and then collects out airborne compounds needed, for example, for essential oils.
  • CO2 Extraction: As earlier highlighted, essential oils using CO2 extraction involve administering supercritical carbon dioxide to isolate superior quality compounds in raw materials without heat or poisonous solvents.

Concentration

  • Evaporation: Juice or puree is evaporated by heating under a lower pressure, thus eliminating the water and emphasizing the taste and nutrient content.
  • Freeze-Drying: The material is immediately frozen and then the water content is extracted by vacuum drying these retain the flavors and nutrients.
  • Spray Drying: The liquid extract is then aerosolized into a hot chamber where it forms a powder-like substance with retention of the flavors and nutritional value.

Uses of Extracts and Concentrates 

The extracts and concentrates find application in numerous food and beverage items to add taste, aroma, and even nutrient content.

Beverages

  • Juices and Smoothies: Juice and smoothie flavors, condiments and preservatives include fruit and vegetable extracts and concentrates.
  • Flavored Waters: Flavors are created by extracting natural products that are incorporated in the bottled water to give people healthy drink instead of intake of sugary products.
  • Alcoholic Beverages: Herbal and spice extracts are applied to spirits, liqueurs or craft beers where they introduce other layers deep and compounded.

Baked Goods

  • Cakes and Pastries: Vanilla, mint, and fruits extracts are added to cakes and pastries to give them taste and flavor.
  • Bread and Cookies: Nicely, Cinnamon and nutmeg are extracts that are created to bring warmth or strengthened flavors to bread and cookies.

Dairy Products

  • Yogurt and Ice Cream: Yogurt and ice cream are flavored with fruits extracts and concentrate that add natural sugars and bright colours to the product.
  • Cheese and Butter: Cooking Herbs include rosemary and thyme used in Flavours such as cheese, butter and Deli meats.

Sauces and Condiments

  • Ketchup and Barbecue Sauce: Tomato solids which can be extracts and concentrates are used for the flavor, intensity and mouthfeel of ketchup and barbecue sauces.
  • Salad Dressings: Natural fruit extracts and selected herbs are added to the salad dressings in order to give it a fresh, pleasant taste to perk up the salads.