Diacetyl-Free Dairy Flavors

Mounting concern about the negative health impact of diacetyl exposure has led many food processors to eliminate its use for flavoring products. Diacetyl, a naturally occurring compound in many dairy products, is often added to concentrated dairy flavors to lend buttery impact. Although declared safe for consumption by FDA, diacetyl was recently linked to the development of a rare lung disease in workers inhaling butter-flavor vapors in a popcorn manufacturing plant. Edlong developed the ED-Vantage line of non-diacetyl flavors to address the needs of manufacturers seeking dairy flavors without added diacetyl.

This line of non-diacetyl dairy flavors provides excellent dairy profiles, without the worker health concerns related to diacetyl in manufacturing environments, says Anand Rao, Ph.D., director, technical sales and service.

Since these flavors are developed using the newest flavor technologies available, they provide well-rounded dairy profiles and cost stability in the volatile dairy commodity markets, adds Rick Schultz, vice president, global strategic product development. With our future additions of cleaner-label flavors to this ED-Vantage line, our customers will have the option of enhancing their product flavor profile and the label.

Currently, the line includes butter flavors targeted for use in microwave popcorn. Soon, the diacetyl-free line will include natural, allergen-free and non-GMO profiles of cheese flavors, such as blue, Cheddar, Gouda, Parmesan, Romano and Roquefort, as well as milk-, yogurt- and cultured sour cream-type flavors. Also in development are non-diacetyl sweet flavors, such as butterscotch, butter pecan, caramel, cheesecake, cocoa butter, graham cracker, honey, maple butter and peanut butter, for dessert and beverage applications.

ED-Vantage flavors are suitable in any application where dairy flavors or dairy commodity ingredients are currently used, says Rao. The flavors behave similarly to other dairy flavors in food processing. The stability of the flavors is impacted by the food matrix and processing conditions. We work with our customers to understand their processing needs and recommend the appropriate form of flavor to withstand those conditions.

According to Schultz, the usage rate for the line of flavors is similar to that of other concentrated flavors, which is typically less than 1% in the formula. All flavors in the line have a 12-month shelf life, unless otherwise stated.

Edlong Dairy Flavors 
225 Scott Street 
Elk Grove Village, IL 60007 
Phone: 888/698-2783 
E-mail: [email protected] 
Website: www.edlong.com