What is Sodium PolyPhosphate?

Sodium PolyPhosphate, also referred to as polyphosphate sodium, is one of the widely used food additives that has a significant application in the food industry. This substance, with the chemical formula (NaPO3n), is considered one of the most consumed food additives, used extensively to improve the quality of various food products such as meat products, seafood, baked goods, dairy products, and beverages.

What is phosphate?

Phosphate is actually the salt of phosphoric acid (Na+), and when several simple phosphate units (PO43-) combine chemically, they form more complex units known as polyphosphates.

The phosphates used in food products include:

Sodium Pyrophosphate TSPP: This is produced when a compound contains two phosphate units.

Sodium Tripolyphosphate STPP: This is created with the presence of three phosphate units in the compound.

Sodium Polyphosphate SPP: This is formed if there are more phosphate units in the compound.

Difference between Sodium PolyPhosphate and Sodium Tripolyphosphate

These two substances differ in terms of formulation and the compounds used in them, as well as their applications. The combination of three phosphate units with sodium salt results in a product called Sodium Tripolyphosphate, but if more than three phosphate units are present in the compound, a product called Sodium PolyPhosphate is obtained.

Moreover, Sodium PolyPhosphate (Sodium PolyPhosphate) has a complex formula and is produced only by a few countries in the world, and in Iran, it is produced solely by Ghazal Najm Company, while Sodium Tripolyphosphate is produced abundantly in various factories and supplied to the market.

Types of Edible Sodium Polyphosphates

Ghazal Najm Company, as the first and only producer of Sodium PolyPhosphate in Iran and the Middle East, has designed and produced various types of polyphosphate salt according to customer needs. Some of the main products of this company used in the food industry include:

Sodium PolyPhosphate for meat products (cutter)

Sodium PolyPhosphate for meat processing (tumbler)

Sodium PolyPhosphate for processing dairy products

Sodium PolyPhosphate for processing seafood

We will further discuss the applications of each of the above items.

Uses of Sodium PolyPhosphate

Sodium and potassium salts, such as Sodium PolyPhosphate, are used in the preparation of some meat products and also in the production of dairy products. Edible Sodium PolyPhosphate is used as an emulsifier, stabilizer, suspending agent, moisture and fat binder, solubility enhancer, metal ion receptor, and buffer in food products. It is also used as an additive in the meat and dairy industries and in the production and packaging of seafood and meat products.

The main applications of this product in the food industry include:

Preserving meat products such as chicken, poultry, bacon, sausage, and salami

Preserving seafood products such as fish, shellfish, and shrimp

Preserving beverages such as carbonated drinks, fruit juices, energy drinks, smoothies

Preserving dairy products like cream, milk, and cheese

As a leavening agent and baking powder in bread, cake, and cookies

In the following sections, we will familiarize you more with the uses of this product.

Applications of Sodium PolyPhosphate in the Food Industry

One of the most important applications of phosphates in the food industry is their use in meat products to stabilize meat quality. An approved and suitable additive should be beneficial for human health and enhance product quality. Phosphate additives possess these characteristics and are used worldwide for the production of meat products. Adding phosphates in the production process of meat products stabilizes color, maintains acidity levels, increases elasticity, prevents bacterial growth, improves flavor, and provides a pleasant aroma to the meat, etc. We will explain some of the uses of this product below.

To retain moisture in food products

In the food industry, maintaining moisture is very important. Losing moisture in food products is economically detrimental and affects taste. Determining the water retention capacity in meat products and the ability of meat to retain water during processing, such as slicing, heating, grinding, or pressing, is crucial. Sodium PolyPhosphate, as an additive, can help retain moisture in meat products during slicing and packaging. Additionally, using this substance in the production stages of sausage and salami helps maintain optimal moisture during cooking. In fact, due to its emulsifying properties, it allows these products to lose less water and fat when heated.

As a flavor enhancer for food products

Polyphosphates prevent the spoilage and oxidation of fats. Because when fats oxidize, the flavor of processed meats is diminished. This substance also prevents microbiological spoilage in processed meats and ultimately increases the shelf life and quality stability of food products over time. Edible Sodium PolyPhosphate is used for packaging various fish and shrimp to preserve flavor, freshness, and prevent spoilage. Phosphate salts used to preserve and enhance the flavor of meat products, including meat from livestock, poultry, and seafood (fish and shrimp), are very diverse.

Ghazal Najm Company, as one of the producers of food additives, designs and produces various formulated phosphate salts based on customer needs.

To stabilize the color of food products

Two pigments, myoglobin and hemoglobin, which are iron-carrying proteins, are influential factors in the color of meat. Myoglobin has the ability to absorb oxygen and appears as a bright red pigment on the cut surface of meat. When exposed to air, it oxidizes and turns into a brown pigment called metmyoglobin. The use of polyphosphates helps maintain pH and prevents the oxidation process, thus keeping the red color of the meat stable, and in the case of processed meats, phosphates contribute to the advancement of color processing.

To increase tenderness in food products

Softening meat using chemical substances is referred to as tenderness. Phosphate additives, by affecting the fibrous proteins of meat tissue (actin and myosin), make the meat more tender and easier to slice. Additionally, using phosphates in the production of products like sausage and salami helps absorb more fat and moisture into the product, resulting in increased tenderness.

As a binder

The use of phosphates helps dissolve added myosin, thus acting as a gel binder. After cooking, processed meat can be cut into large pieces without losing its shape. This property is very important for processing meat products such as sausage, salami, and other types of cold cuts.

As a surfactant

Another application of sodium phosphates (SPP) is to reduce the surface tension of processed foods. Common examples include whipped cream and cheese.

Application of phosphates in meat products

Phosphates have extensive applications in meat products. These salts consist of positively charged metal ions and negatively charged phosphate ions. For example, Sodium PolyPhosphate, upon dissolution, becomes Na and PO. These compounds are used in curing solutions and in the composition of cured meats. The reason is the very beneficial effects they create in these products.

Permitted additives in meat products

Generally, substances used during the food production process are called additives. Additives help preserve and improve characteristics such as flavor, color, texture, firmness, and shelf life of food products. Three important characteristics that additives used in meat products must have include:

They must be essential for preserving and enhancing product quality.

They should not pose a risk to human health.

They should not mislead consumers.

Therefore, today most countries are constantly striving to limit the number of permitted additives used in meat products. Cured meats can also be produced without phosphates, but the benefits of using phosphates are such that they are considered an important additive in this category of products.

Phosphates play several roles in meat products:

These compounds prevent the bonding between actin and myosin that occurs during rigor mortis. They also weaken electrostatic forces, separating actomyosin into individual actin and myosin fibers, thus increasing the solubility of muscle proteins. Due to their negative charge, phosphates bind to positively charged calcium and magnesium ions, which play an important role in muscle contraction and relaxation.

By simultaneously adding salt and phosphates to meat products, muscle proteins dissolve and become activated. These proteins can hold a large amount of water in a non-mobile form and incorporate a significant amount of fat into the emulsion.

Most phosphates used in meat products are alkaline and increase pH. This creates a distance from the isoelectric point, thereby increasing the water retention capacity of the proteins. At high pH levels, electrostatic repulsion increases the distance between actin and myosin, allowing more water to be held in this space.

Phosphates somewhat reduce bacterial growth. However, since large amounts must be used to observe such an effect, their role in this regard cannot be considered significant.

These compounds can chelate metal ions and delay the process of spoilage.

Phosphates can also affect the color of the product. In processed meats, the increase in pH due to the presence of phosphates increases the time required to produce sufficient nitric oxide, thus allowing the final color to form appropriately.

Application of Sodium PolyPhosphate in Seafood Processing

Sodium PolyPhosphate (SPP) is one of the most commonly used phosphate compounds for preserving seafood and frozen food. The freezing process is typically used to preserve seafood. Freezing affects the muscle tissue of fish. When removed from the frozen state, blood plasma is released from the tissue, resulting in a firm and dry texture. To prevent the drying of fish tissue and retain moisture within it, as well as to maintain the characteristics of fresh fish, additives are used. Today, the use of Sodium PolyPhosphate in seafood to preserve and improve the quality of fillets has become common in many countries.

Freezing fish reduces liquid and exudate during defrosting. Naturally, during the thawing of frozen fish, some liquid is released from their bodies. The amount of this interstitial fluid, commonly known as Drip, is particularly significant from the cut surface of the fillet. Especially in cases where the main freezing and storage operations have not been carried out properly, this amount can be so high in some species, including flatfish, and in certain seasons that it may render the product inedible.

Sodium PolyPhosphate can improve the water retention capacity in fish after freezing. In this case, although liquid still exits from the muscle cells, it remains within the tissue. This process ultimately prevents product weight loss as well.

The use of Sodium PolyPhosphate in seafood is done by preparing a solution and immersing the prepared fillets in it. Typically, this method results in an increase in the weight of the fillets by about 10% of their initial weight. It is worth noting that its addition not only has no adverse effects but also helps retain water and reduce undesirable changes in color and flavor due to pressure during storage.

Permissible Amount of Sodium PolyPhosphate Consumption

The maximum permissible amount for using phosphates in meat products is 5 percent of the product weight. Most meat product manufacturers use 0.3 to 0.4 percent phosphate in their products.

Method of Producing Edible Sodium PolyPhosphate

Edible Sodium PolyPhosphate is a special compound. This substance has a specific and unique formula that only a few countries, such as Germany, China, and the United States, have possessed. However, Ghazal Najm Company, through the efforts and dedication of its professional specialists, has been able to achieve this formula and has produced this product in recent years to meet the needs of related industries. All products from this factory have various certifications and approvals from the Food and Drug Administration and the Ministry of Industry. In terms of quality, Ghazal Najm's products are on par with German products and even better than the Chinese samples available in the market.

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