Kerry’s new enzyme solution prolongs freshness and quality of sweet baked goods

Muffin made with Kerry Biobake Fresh Rich. Images courtesy of Kerry

Kerry (Naas, Ireland) has introduced a clean-label, starch-acting enzyme solution called Biobake Fresh Rich to deliver longer-lasting softness, freshness, and moistness over shelf life in sweet baked goods that contain over 20% sugar. Prolonged freshness and quality over shelf life helps reduce food waste. According to the company’s press release, baked goods are the largest category of food waste globally.

“Kerry’s new Biobake Fresh Rich is a proven performer, maintaining product freshness, softness and moistness in high-sugar content products like muffins, pancakes and pound cakes over longer shelf life. This delivers significant benefits in reducing food waste by making the supply chain more robust and improving the sustainability profiles of bakeries,” said Deborah Waters, product director for enzymes at Kerry, in a press release.

Waters cites Kerry’s recent global consumer research that found 98% of consumers actively try to reduce food waste, and 72% believe improving shelf life would help reduce waste. One third also said they would switch brand loyalty based on longer shelf life. The consumer research was conducted with 5,154 consumers in 10 countries.

Biobake Fresh Rich comes in a highly dispersible dry format and has a neutral taste. According to Kerry, recent sensory trials found that compared to a benchmark fresh-keeping enzyme over a 12 month shelf life, Biobake Fresh Rich showed greater performance in both softness and moistness perception.

“Extending shelf life is a strategy being used by many bakeries to increase product appeal with consumers, extend overall profits and reduce food waste,” said Waters. “Biobake Fresh Rich is a versatile, clean label solution that maintains freshness in sweet bakery applications over a longer shelf life, helping build brand loyalty.”