Understanding the Use of Preservatives in Personal Care Products

When most consumers think of preservatives, their mind wanders to packaged foods, not personal care products. Why would manufacturers add preservatives to skin care? Bell Chem, your personal care ingredient supplier, wishes to share information on the uses and reasons preservatives are a vital ingredient in the majority of personal care products. 

Why do personal care products need preservatives?

Water-based products have an Achilles’ heel. Kept in a room-temperature environment in a stagnant container, water-borne bacteria, fungi, mold, and other microorganisms quickly multiply. Think about where you use the majority of your personal care products – the steamy, damp bathroom. This exacerbates an already perilous situation. The answer is preservatives to stanch the microbial growth. Knowing this, the only personal care products exempt from the necessity of preservatives are anhydrous products. Even these are not entirely safe since water can be introduced via wet hands or a steamy bathroom, which invites bacterial growth.

Over time, many ingredients within products begin to break down, which can diminish the usefulness of a product. Preservatives act to stabilize those ingredients, which enhances the product’s ability to last a longer amount of time.

What’s in a name?

Recently many consumers have opted out of products containing a long list of chemical-sounding ingredients, and sometimes preservatives are those very words. However, not all preservatives are artificial. Take, for instance, honey. This innocuous ingredient is a preservative since it extends shelf life of products as it deters microbial growth. 

Natural preservatives

Glycerin, essential oils, and alcohols are all considered natural preservatives. Their advantages are abundant – they can be used by most of the population, including young children and older adults, and deliver peace of mind to the end user. However, they may alter a product’s smell or performance and increase the cost of production since often up to 30% of the product could consist of preservatives. This cost is passed on to the consumer as a higher price than chemical preservatives.

Chemical preservatives

Noted for their ease of production, chemical preservatives keep products free of contaminants even in your bathroom. These preservatives are stable, predictable, sanitary, and have been tested thoroughly to allay most allergic reactions. Benzyl alcohol, ethylene glycol, and potassium sorbate are all examples of chemical preservatives you can trust.

Bell Chem is your personal care ingredient supplier based in Longwood, FL (just north of Orlando) with hundreds of products stocked in their 50,000+ square-foot warehouse, including preservatives for personal care products. You can expect the highest quality products, expedited shipping options for maximum efficiency, and unrivaled personalized customer service. Let our knowledgeable and friendly customer service representatives and accounting staff personalize all your needs by either calling 407-339-BELL (2355) or by sending us an online message.

Types of Food Additives Needed in a Wholesale Bakery

Bakeries may rely on many of the same additives as other food industries, but several are specific to baking. You can find the majority of these additives in the warehouse of your food ingredient supplier, Bell Chem. Below is a sampling of the most prevalent bakery food additives.

Artificial sweeteners

With the push toward weight loss, many bakeries offer low-sugar or no-sugar products, which require artificial sweeteners, such as aspartame, saccharin, and sucralose. These artificial sweeteners give the same flavor as full-sugar products without an influx of calories. 

Emulsifiers

Many baked goods contain water (or a liquid containing a large percentage of water) and oil. Under normal circumstances these two liquids are immiscible. Adding an emulsifier such as carrageenan, a di- or mono-glyceride, or lecithin, quickly combines these within the other ingredients by breaking the surface tension of the liquid ingredients, creating a mixture with improved texture.

Enzymes

Amylase, lipase, and protease are all enzymes that break complex carbohydrates into simple sugars, which expedites the fermentation process while baking. As enzymes break down carbohydrates, the remaining simple sugars feed yeast, an extremely important ingredient in the majority of baked goods. Yeast gives bread the light, fluffy texture and tantalizing odor commonly associated with baked goods. 

Food colorings and flavorings

From titanium dioxide to salt, the appearance and taste of baked goods is vitally important. While many colors and flavors were originally natural, many are now produced artificially at a more economical price. Another consideration is the addition of on-trend ingredients, such as caffeine or vitamins, which may impact the overall flavor of baked goods. Flavor enhancers such as bitter blockers and flavor extenders, maskers, and potentiators can recall the original flavor while maintaining the on-trend ingredients. 

Preservatives

As the name suggests, preservatives such as calcium and sodium propionate, potassium sorbate, and potassium and sodium benzoate prolong shelf life of baked goods by creating an unstable environment for microorganisms. 

For more information on baked goods additives, visit Bell Chem’s News page.  

Bell Chem is your food ingredient supplier based in Longwood, FL (just north of Orlando) with hundreds of products stocked in their 50,000+ square-foot warehouse, including bakery food additives. You can expect the highest quality products, expedited shipping options for maximum efficiency, and unrivaled personalized customer service. Let our knowledgeable and friendly customer service representatives and accounting staff personalize all your needs by either calling 407-339-BELL (2355) or by sending us an online message.

Safflower Oil Uses Across Industries

Safflower has been a crop for humans longer than almost any other. Initially, safflower’s petals were used as a dye (its Latin name is Carthamus tinctoris), but the oil is today’s safflower star attraction. Bell Chem, your food ingredient supplier, has information pertaining to safflower oil in more than foods, though. This versatile oil has uses across industries. 

Food manufacturing 

Many salad oils, cooking oils, and margarines rely on safflower oil since it has a neutral taste and a pale yellow coloring that does not detract from the overall color of the products in which it is an ingredient. Chefs appreciate its high smoke point, which gives it use in deep frying where other oils fail.

Cosmetic industry

Safflower oil works extremely well as a moisturizer, with natural vitamin E acting as an antioxidant to protect the surface of the skin from cell-damaging free radicals. In hair care products, lotions, and creams, safflower oil helps maintain elasticity in skin and impedes inflammation with its Omega-6 fatty acid content and tocopherols.

Pharmaceutical uses of safflower

Safflower oil contains an important compound known as conjugated linoleic acid, which may have a role in both weight management and the reduction of adipose. Safflower oil is naturally low in saturated fat and abundant in mono- and polyunsaturated fatty acids, specifically the Omega-6 fatty acid linoleic acid. Its moisturizing properties, including the highly beneficial tocopherol, give safflower oil uses for patients with acne.

Industrial uses 

Many oils can be used as the basis of paints, but safflower oil’s ability to maintain a clear, protective coating without yellowing over time gives it top billing. Safflower oil also dries quickly, which is perfect for varnishes and paints.

Petroleum replacement?

In Australia, a private company has created a super-high oleic (SHO) safflower oil with 92% oleic acid. With this level of purity, the product could revolutionize many industries since it creates a superior lubricant with reduced friction, low emissions, and a recyclability for reuse. This SHO safflower oil has the potential to be used in specialty chemicals, fuels, lubricants, and plastics.

Bell Chem is a food ingredient supplier based in Longwood, FL (just north of Orlando) with hundreds of products stocked in their 50,000+ square-foot warehouse, including safflower oil. You can expect the highest quality products, expedited shipping options for maximum efficiency, and unrivaled personalized customer service. Let our knowledgeable and friendly customer service representatives and accounting staff personalize all your needs by either calling 407-339-BELL (2355) or by sending us an online message.

Chemicals Needed to Clean a Wholesale Bakery

Working in a bakery is more than deeply inhaling fresh bread odors all day. Creating wholesale products for consumers often requires sticky bread dough, sugary icings, and combinations of flavorings – all of which can feed armies of hidden microorganisms. As a chemical supplier, Bell Chem has a thorough understanding of a bakery’s chemical needs, and works to ensure these products can be delivered to you in record time.

One-step cleaners and sanitizers

Industry demands a vigorous approach to cleaning, degreasing, and sanitizing. One-step cleaners may not be a solution for baked-on dough or greasy surface, but their day-to-day use is vital.

Alkaline detergent cleaners

Baking is a sticky situation, literally. Bread hooks covered in dough will harden if not cleaned immediately, and surfaces suffer the same fate. Machinery can gum up quickly unless the proper cleaner is used. Alkaline detergent cleaners are available in foams to cling to uneven surfaces, or sprays for flat, easy-to-reach countertops. The most common everyday cleanser is chlorinated alkaline detergent. Baked-in or carbonized carbohydrates may require a stronger alkaline cleaner.

Solvent-Containing Detergents 

Solvents are excellent for quickly eliminating liquid and solid lipid-based spills. Lipids include grease and fat, which are not easily cleaned with water since water and oil do not mix. Acetone and toluene are great solvent-containing detergents.

Enzyme-Based Detergents 

Some cleaning surfaces can deteriorate when strong oxidizers or heavy-duty alkaline cleaners are used frequently. Those instances might call for enzyme-based detergents, which easily remove biofilms that cause microbiological contamination. Enzyme-based detergents are not only easy on machinery, they are also safer for the individuals coming into contact with them.

Hypochlorous Acid Solutions

Hypochlorous acid effectively deters pathogens over time – microbes are simply unable to develop a defensive strategy to overcome this heavy-duty bleach. 

Degreasers

Any industry where grease is present can experience buildup and possible damage to equipment. Choose a concentrated degreaser to remove buildup and a diluted solution to maintain your equipment. Remember, grease splatters out of its intended container onto counters, walls, floors, and any other nearby area, which means degreasers are utilized far more often than you may anticipate.

Personal Sanitation

Even the most carefully maintained bakeries may suffer from contamination if the workers do not properly clean and sanitize their clothes and themselves. Implement a hand sanitizing system and ensure it is followed. Install hand sanitizing stations at key locations. Keeping clean rooms properly ventilated will also prevent microbes from entering unintentionally.

Bell Chem is a chemical supplier based in Longwood, FL (just north of Orlando) with hundreds of products stocked in their 50,000+ square-foot warehouse, including chemicals specific for bakery uses. You can expect the highest quality products, expedited shipping options for maximum efficiency, and unrivaled personalized customer service. Let our knowledgeable and friendly customer service representatives and accounting staff personalize all your needs by either calling 407-339-BELL (2355) or by sending us an online message.

How to Handle Hazardous Chemicals in the Workplace

Safety is important, especially when your business focuses on chemicals in any manner. Bell Chem is more than your standard chemical supplier; they back up these ideas with credentials: Bell Chem is certified OSHA compliant and has been audited by a third party to prove it meets or exceeds industry standards on GMP and HACCP requirements. In other words, Bell Chem backs up its words with safety practices. 

Training

Each member of your team must be properly trained before utilizing any chemical. This might mean hiring a chemical hygiene team or simply having one-on-one training for each new employee. Hazardous chemicals require specialized training for any individual handling or using the chemical.

Any method you choose should also include a safety standard operating procedure researched by your safety team and agreed upon by the managers responsible for employees handling chemicals. Be sure training is current and includes hands-on participation in both formal and non-formal testing environments. 

Personal Protective Equipment

To handle hazardous chemicals, it is imperative to understand how your surroundings and the human body will react to these chemicals. Most chemicals require gloves and a gown to handle properly, and hazardous chemicals always necessitate special protective gear. Know which chemicals require a face shield, rubber gloves, shoe coverings, et cetera. 

Be Aware

It may be unlikely for employees to work closely together with reactive chemicals, but to be sure nothing unexpectedly combusts, it is a good idea to know every chemical simultaneously used in a given setting.

Safety Data Sheets

A very important order of business is to read the safety data sheet (SDS) for each chemical before handling it to fully comprehend all safety measures. This concise information is easily processed with proper training (see above). These safety data sheets explain whether a chemical should be used under a vent hood, only with goggles, or simply with neoprene gloves, for instance. SDSs can be accessed online as well as within the packaging of any chemical.

Bell Chem is a chemical supplier based in Longwood, FL (just north of Orlando) with hundreds of products stocked in their 50,000+ square-foot warehouse, including a wide array of chemicals. You can expect the highest quality products, expedited shipping options for maximum efficiency, and unrivaled personalized customer service. Let our knowledgeable and friendly customer service representatives and accounting staff personalize all your needs by either calling 407-339-BELL (2355) or by sending us an online message.

Exploring the Uses of Sodium Acetate in Food Preservation

Sodium acetate is compounded from sodium salt and acetic acid with the formula CH3COONa (or NaC2H3O2). Because both salt and bases play an important role in food preservation, sodium acetate packs a double punch. Food additive supplier Bell Chem presents the following information on food preservation with sodium acetate.

Good flavor, little odor

Sodium acetate imparts a salty taste to foods, which is to be expected since it contains sodium. However, its odor is close to discernible when added as an ingredient, giving the foods in which they are an ingredient a more recognizable odor. The flavor is positive for taste as well as preservation; salt has been recognized as a food preservative for millennia. 

pH adjustment

Many foods may waver on the acidic side of the pH scale, which can lead to problems in processing, taste, and/or stability. The addition of a buffer such as sodium acetate will stabilize the pH into the correct range for the food or beverage in which it is an ingredient.

Bacteria prevention

Foods and beverages with bacterial cultivation have extremely short shelf lives. Sodium acetate prevents the formation of bacteria and other microorganisms on edibles. In fact, sodium acetate has proven vital for the prevention of bacteria such as dihydrogen sulfate populations, Enterobacteriaceae, lactic acid bacteria, and Pseudomonas species.

Good value for your money

Sodium acetate is an inexpensive answer to extending shelf life. Studies have proven the addition of this ingredient extends shelf life 4-7 days longer than products not containing sodium acetate because it disturbs both the enzymatic and chemical reactions that lead to microbial growth. 

Bell Chem is a food additive supplier based in Longwood, FL (just north of Orlando) with hundreds of products stocked in their 50,000+ square-foot warehouse, including sodium acetate. You can expect the highest quality products, expedited shipping options for maximum efficiency, and unrivaled personalized customer service. Let our knowledgeable and friendly customer service representatives and accounting staff personalize all your needs by either calling 407-339-BELL (2355) or by sending us an online message.

Exploring the Role of Microcrystalline Cellulose in Food Technology

If you take cellulose and remove one segment of the molecule chemically, you create microcrystalline cellulose (MCC). Crushed into an extremely fine powder of differing grain size, MCC gathers numbers to its initials: 101, 102, 103, et cetera. These numbers signify varying grades of crystallinity, density, capacity to hold water, and other factors. 

MCC is added to products from vegetarian burgers to the buns that cover them. Food ingredient supplier Bell Chem wants to give you a better idea of how microcrystalline cellulose can become part of your food technology.

MCC as a texturizer

Unlike other fibers added as an ingredient, MCC does not impart a “grit” many consumers find unpalatable in their foods such as frozen yogurt and beverages such as protein shakes.

So many foods are pre-packaged now, and the struggle to maintain those foods for extended shelf lives have led to many positive changes. Microcrystalline cellulose answers the pressing question of how to absorb excess water in packaged foods since it quickly captures water molecules, keeping them from caking the foods they infiltrate. Packages purchased on the 75th day maintain the same texture as on the first day. 

MCC as a fat replacer

In whipped products, such as cream or yogurt, MCC adds volume. This usually comes at the expense of increased fat, which manufacturers appreciate since their products are able to be labeled as “low fat” or “reduced fat.” 

As a rule, fat adds bulk and satisfaction to many foods. MCC fills this role by replacing fat with no caloric increase, aerating the foods in the same manner as fats. Unlike fats, MCC naturally passes through the body undigested leaving no caloric trace. MCC has a starring role in diet and low-calorie foods and beverages for this reason, maintaining the overall volume of a product while reducing fat consumption by up to 50%.

MCC as a bulking agent

Cellulose is a natural plant fiber that supplements the bulk of products without altering their flavor. MCC is frequently added to sauces and other products where increased viscosity is necessary. When added to water, MCC expands greatly, stabilizing the surrounding ingredients as the overall food or beverage is thickened. Liquids are quickly emulsified, stabilizing them in the mix rather than separating and floating to the surface.

Bell Chem is a food ingredient supplier based in Longwood, FL (just north of Orlando) with hundreds of products stocked in their 50,000+ square-foot warehouse, including microcrystalline cellulose. You can expect the highest quality products, expedited shipping options for maximum efficiency, and unrivaled personalized customer service. Let our knowledgeable and friendly customer service representatives and accounting staff personalize all your needs by either calling 407-339-BELL (2355) or by sending us an online message.

Tackling Food Waste: Solutions for Extending Shelf Life

Food waste and climate change are more intricately connected than you might imagine. In fact, the United Nations has listed lowering the amount of food waste as one of its 17 Sustainable Development Goals by 2030, noting that approximately 17% to 33% of all food is wasted. This leads to more than landfill fodder. Decaying food produces methane, which contributes between 10% and 17% of the overall total of greenhouse gas emissions. Bell Chem recognizes the role food additives play in prolonging shelf life, which leads to less food wasted. Your food additive supplier has the following inventory to sustain our foods – and our planet.

How can oxygen be harmful?

Think about an old car left to the elements. Your brain probably immediately noted the rust on the car. Rust is the transformation of iron in the presence of oxygen, which produces iron oxide. Oxygen has this same negative effect on many food items as well. However, vitamins C and E, as well as beta carotene, are natural antioxidants that keep oxygen from discoloring and removing flavor from foods.

Meat and poultry are positively influenced by green tea extracts and rosemary, which enhance the appearance, quality, and taste of meats through their high percentage of phenolic compounds. These compounds double as powerful antioxidants.

Fermentation

Centuries of fermented foods have proven how well vinegar (acetic acid) maintains food’s shelf life. Acetic acid is inexpensive, well studied, and used worldwide.

Simple salts

Sodium chloride, or table salt, is more than a flavor enhancer. It acts as a preserver, changing the environment so drastically via a change in osmotic pressure that microbes lose water through their thin membranes until they are completely desiccated. 

Potassium chloride performs the same role, and these salts are often used concurrently as a brine solution. Salts are often added to meat where they preserve, improve the mouthfeel of the food, and lock in water. 

Organic acid salts

Organic acids, such as propionic acid, lactic acid, and acetic acid, inhibit microbe and pathogen growth by lowering the overall pH of food products. While foods can exist in this environment, pathogens cannot.  

Bell Chem is a food additive supplier based in Longwood, FL (just north of Orlando) with hundreds of products stocked in their 50,000+ square-foot warehouse, including CSANTM sanitation products. You can expect the highest quality products, expedited shipping options for maximum efficiency, and unrivaled personalized customer service. Let our knowledgeable and friendly customer service representatives and accounting staff personalize all your needs by either calling 407-339-BELL (2355) or by sending us an online message.

Why Ascorbic Acid is Found in Skin Care Products

Look at the ingredient list in many skin care products and ascorbic acid is likely to be included. What causes so many manufacturers to reach for ascorbic acid when creating their products? Personal care raw materials supplier Bell Chem has several facts to share about ascorbic acid. 

Many people interchange the words “ascorbic acid” and “vitamin C”; in fact, vitamin C comes in many forms, but ascorbic acid is its purest form. For anyone worried about using ascorbic acid, rest assured. More dermatological research has been conducted on this chemical than on any other. The following attributes have been credited with using ascorbic acid.

Oxidative stress reduction

Free radicals are often the culprit in many of skin’s anomalies, such as damage to nucleic acids, proteins, and cellular membranes. Ascorbic acid’s excess of electrons in its outer shell quickly adhere to free radicals, keeping them at bay. Free radicals stimulate a chain reaction of events leading to breakdowns of collagen, which keeps skin soft and supple, and elastin, which increases the elasticity of skin’s appearance. When free radicals are inert, these changes are less likely to occur because the connective tissues remain intact.

Photoprotection

The addition of ascorbic acid to sunscreen enhances its ability to protect against UV rays. The same free radicals as mentioned previously are activated by UVA rays, which affect the underlying dermis by mutating collagen, elastin, and proteoglycans; and UVB rays, which primarily affect the epidermis where mutations can lead to sunburn and skin cancer. 

Alone, sunscreens block approximately 55% of free radicals associated with UV exposure. With ascorbic acid as an ingredient, the propensity to block harmful UV rays reduces erythema by 52% and sunburn cell formation by approximately 50%.

Removal of skin discoloration

Ascorbic acid inhibits melanin formation, which is responsible for freckles and other patches of skin discoloration.

Bell Chem is a personal care raw materials supplier based in Longwood, FL (just north of Orlando) with hundreds of products stocked in their 50,000+ square-foot warehouse, including ascorbic acid. You can expect the highest quality products, expedited shipping options for maximum efficiency, and unrivaled personalized customer service. Let our knowledgeable and friendly customer service representatives and accounting staff personalize all your needs by either calling 407-339-BELL (2355) or by sending us an online message.

Food Additives: Debunking Myths and Exploring Benefits for Food Producers

Unless your main source of food is your backyard garden, chances are that your food contains food additives. Food ingredient supplier Bell Chem wishes to shed light on food additives, since the vast majority enhance food and beverage flavor, safety, stability, shelf life, and so many other factors we find make foods palatable. Let’s examine different categories of food additives to learn how they improve what we consume.

Antioxidants

Oxidation of many foods causes spoilage. Fats and oils are especially prone to becoming rancid when exposed to oxygen. The addition of antioxidants hinders this reaction, which prolongs shelf life.

Colorings

Would you eat butter if it was white? Butter produced with a high milk fat content has a naturally yellow color, but commercial dairy cows generally have a lower milkfat and higher output of milk. One batch of milk may differ in color from another, which leads many manufacturers to add a colorant to the butter so all their product appears one shade of yellow. 

Flavorings

A major food additive that enhances flavor is salt. This spice increases the amount of other flavors in a mix, which is why cakes and cookies contain a small amount of salt in every mix. 

Many health-conscious individuals, as well as those who suffer from diabetes, must watch their sugar intake closely. Artificial sweeteners satisfy sweet cravings without the unwanted sugar spike of granulated sugar. 

Flavorings that occur naturally in some foods may be added to other foods to enhance the flavor. For instance, a natural fruit flavoring may be added to organic cereal. This flavoring is organic and natural while still being a food additive.

Preservatives 

Imagine a store shelf full of fresh bread. Imagine running out of bread in the middle of the day because you did not want to overstock or, on the other hand, the next day throwing out half your inventory. Preservatives inhibit the growth of mold, bacteria, and other dangerous microorganisms that consume your products before the end-user does. Without preservatives, most of the food in grocery stores would be inedible. 

Stabilizers

During manufacture, ingredients must be carefully measured and mixed so one bite tastes distinctly like the next. Stabilizers, such as emulsifiers, maintain a steady amount of mixture without separation into individual ingredients. Anti-caking additives absorb liquid to keep mixes from becoming lumpy while foaming agents maintain the fluffiness of whipped cream.

Remember, foods and beverages in grocery stores face careful scrutiny by the Food and Drug Administration. All food additives are tested, monitored, and controlled. Another thought to keep in mind is the word chemical. Most people associate this word with danger, but everything you see, touch, smell, and taste is composed of chemicals. Very few chemical combinations are truly life-threatening, and the FDA would prohibit their use in foods.

Bell Chem is a food ingredient supplier based in Longwood, FL (just north of Orlando) with hundreds of products stocked in their 50,000+ square-foot warehouse, including chemical additives. You can expect the highest quality products, expedited shipping options for maximum efficiency, and unrivaled personalized customer service. Let our knowledgeable and friendly customer service representatives and accounting staff personalize all your needs by either calling 407-339-BELL (2355) or by sending us an online message.