Seeking Natural Antifoaming and Antioxidant Additives For High Temperature Application

• A material
• A technology
• A partner

A SpecialChem Client is seeking a technology to provide equivalent functionality of vegetable frying oils containing dimethylpolysiloxane (DMPS).

DMPS is currently added to allow the customer (e.g. restaurant operators) to use their frying oil more safely and cost effectively. DMPS prolongs frying oil life, by reducing foaming and acting as an antioxidant. The solution should be preferably a natural ingredient, i.e., not chemically derived but rather from a plant or animal source.

The solution should be preferably a natural ingredient, i.e., not chemically derived but rather from a plant or animal source.

Frying oils are subjected to relatively extreme conditions during use (e.g. temps >180°C) that can impact their stability and effective use life. Most natural anti-oxidative substances are deactivated under these conditions, promoting oxidative degradation of the oil. In addition, moisture and food particles accumulate in frying oil leading to the generation of stable foams. This can lead to the hot oil bubbling over the edge of the fryer and posing safety risks for food service operators.

Many providers address these challenges by incorporating silicone based polymers (e.g. Dimethylpolysiloxane – DMPS) into the frying oil to act as an antifoaming agent. DMPS when used at low concentration (

In recent years consumers have been seeking greater transparency on where their food is coming from and what is being put into it. Of particular concern are ‘chemical’ sounding materials that are listed on product labels. Consumers perceive these products as not having ‘clean’ labels, and are actively avoiding them. Although DMPS is viewed as safe and used regularly in many applications (e.g. droplets for treating gas in babies), it has been targeted as an ingredient of concern by some advocacy groups. As a result the SpecialChem Client is looking for alternatives approaches that can provide comparable activity at a comparable cost in use.

• Must offer comparable use life when used in conventional soybean oil and in high stable oil, such as high oleic canola.
  • Evaluation Protocol: 18 day fry study in Wells table top model fryer with temperature set at 350°F and maintained on for 8 hours per day. Fresh cut potatoes (350g) added 4x per day and fried for 5 minutes. Oil will not be filtered during the study period and no new oil added.
  • Percent total polar compounds in oil during fry study will be used as measurement criteria. Maximum will be 24% total polar compounds (viewed as end-point of frying oil life) as measured by handheld probe (example: Testo or Ebro brands) and verified by official AOCS method Cd20-91.
• Must provide safety protection from foaming comparable to DMPS when used in the oils listed above. Foam must not form to the point where it overflows from the vat (see photos below).

• Must have low or no impact on oil or fried food color/appearance/aroma. If an additive:
  • Ingredients must be recognizable to consumers and not sound chemical or artificial.
  • Ideally should be listed with the FDA as Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS).
  • Should be Kosher and Halal certified.

• Cost will be an essential driver during the selection of the solution. The SpecialChem Client will consider higher cost solutions if value proposition is comparable or better than use of DMPS.

• Natural / plant based compounds
• Materials providing comparable function in other industries (e.g. oil and gas)
• Very low cost materials, systems, or devices that can be easily added to typical restaurant frying equipment (e.g. 30-50 pound vats) in order to:
  • Decrease oxygen exposure to oil
  • Control foam through other physical means
  • Filter out food residues or reduce oil degradation products

• DMPS or other Silicon-based technologies
• Additives that are not viewed as simple and recognizable to consumers (e.g. ‘chemical sounding’)

• Key milestones in the process:
  • Submission review within six weeks of receipt.
  • Preliminary evaluations, fry studies, etc. to be conducted through May 2016.
  • Ideally will arrive at solution by end of May 2016

• Proven Concept
• Ready-to-use solutions

• Industry: Food and Agriculture
• Annual Revenue: 10+ billion USD
• Years in Business: 20+ years
• Headquarters Area: NAFTA

• Licensing
• Contractual partnership
• Joint-Venture
• Buying