The company’s goal was to produce a flavor compound that can appear as natural and non-GMO on food packaging labels, said Blue California executive vice president Cecilia McCollum. “Our unique fermentation process has made this a reality," she added.
To manufacture gamma-decalactone, natural and wild strains of yeast were used, ensuring that customers using the California-based company’s ingredient in its finished product can meet the definition of natural for the EU market, defined as “a flavouring substance obtained by appropriate physical, enzymatic or micro-biological processes from material of vegetable, animal or microbiological origin either in the raw state or after processing for human consumption.”
Typical uses for gamma-decalactone include flavouring formulations for peach, apricots, and strawberries used in beverages, personal care, and pharmaceutical applications.
The company develops ingredients at its R&D facility in Boston as well as its extraction and fermentation manufacturing facilities. Other ingredient products it offers include monk fruit sweetener Blue Sweet, functional ingredient L-Tea Active, and stevia sweetener Good & Sweet.