Sodium Alginate
Sodium Alginate is the sodium salt of alginic acid, a naturally occurring polysaccharide obtained mainly from brown seaweed. It is widely used as a hydrocolloid because it can provide thickening, stabilizing, gelling, film-forming, encapsulation, and water binding functions in many different applications and formulations.
Sodium Alginate dissolves completely in hot and cold water. It reacts with calcium ions (such as calcium chloride or calcium lactate) to instantly form edible gel membranes and spheres. It is used in dairy products, desserts, dressings, sauces, restructured foods, bakery products, noodles and beverages.
It is widely used in molecular gastronomy for spherification, commercial food production and pharmaceutical manufacturing.
Sodium Alginate is listed as GRAS and is approved for use in foods; 21CFR Part 184.1724
Applications — Food
Restructured and Formed Foods — Forms heat-stable gels for restructured fruits, vegetables, seafood and meat analogs.
Dairy and Frozen Desserts — Improves texture and controls ice crystal growth in ice cream and milk puddings. Stabilizes body and free-that performance in frozen systems.
Sauces, Dressings, Jams and Condiments — Builds viscosity and reduces liquid leakage in sauces and dressings. Improves suspension and consistency in ketchup, jams, and canned systems.
Bakery Fillings, Icings and Creams — Stabilizes viscosity in fillings and reduces leakage during storage. Improves moisture retention and structure in breads, cakes and pastry systems.
Noodles, Gel Foods, and Molecular Gastronomy — Improves cohesiveness and reduces breakage in noodles and vermicelli. Also used for edible gels, spheres and encapsulated liquid systems.
Applications — Cosmetics/Personal Care/Industrial
Cosmetics and Personal Care — Improves and optimizes viscosity, hydration, and emulsion stability in creams, lotions, face masks, toothpaste, and hair care products.
Textile Printing and Dyeing — Improves color definition, reduces bleeding and supports uniform dye application. Also used as a print paste thickener for reactive dyes.
Paper, Packaging and Coatings — Improves printability, grease resistance, moisture control and coating performance. Also used as a sizing and barrier agent in paper and paperboard.