METOLOSE® Food Grade
METOLOSE® food grade is widely applied for various processed foods. Functional advantages are versatile as binders, emulsifiers, stabilizers, suspension agents, protective colloids, thickeners and film-forming agents. On top of that, ''reversible thermal gelation'' is really unique property of METOLOSE® for food processing. (Please see ''Reversible thermal gelation'' for more details.) Methylcellulose and Hydroxypropylmethylcellulose have been approved as food additive in many countries including the United States, EU countries, Japan, Australia, Canada and some Asian countries. Please confirm the regulation of each area prior to use.
Reversible thermal gelation
METOLOSE® aqueous solution makes gel upon heating and returns to solutions after cooling. This property is very useful for food processing. For example, it can provide stable viscosity under a wide range of temperature. And this elastic gel helps to reduce oil migration, retain moisture and keep shape during cooking without changing the original texture. Thermal gel provides heat stability to processed foods when deeply fried, baked in ovens and warmed up in microwaves. Furthermore, when eaten, any gummy texture goes away with time passage due to METOLOSE® reversibility.
This heating/cooling cycle can be repeated many times without damaging the products.
| MCE-100TS | MCE | SE | SFE | NE | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Picture of hot gel of a 2 % aqueous solution |  |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Gelation temperture* (A) | 55℃ | 60℃ | 65℃ | 70℃ | 75℃ |
| Disapperance of gel after heating*（B） | 15℃ | 30℃ | 55℃ | 50℃ | 65℃ |
Chemical types and grades
Methylcellulose (MC) and Hydroxypropylmethylcellulose (HPMC) are available for METOLOSE® Food grades. Four(4) substitution types are at your choice with various viscosities as shown below.
| MCE | SFE | SE | NE | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Methylcellulose | Hydroxypropyl Methylcellulose | |||
| Structure |
+
-CH3 (MeO)
|
+ -CH3 (MeO) -CH2CHOHCH3 (HPO) |
||
| E No. 21 CFR | E 461 §182.1480 |
E464 §172.874 |
||
| Substitution | MeO = 27.5-31.5 % |
MeO = 27.0-30.0 % HPO = 4.0-7.5 % |
MeO = 28.0-30.0 % HPO = 7.0-12.0 % |
MeO = 19.0-24.0 % HPO = 4.0-12.0 % |
| Character | Firm thermal gel. Good shape retention and water retention. | Semi-firm thermal gel. Better compatibility with others. | Clear solution. Good film forming property. Softest texture. | Good compatibility with other materials. Soluble in warm condition. |
| Labeled Viscosity/cP* | Specification /cP* | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 | MCE-15 | SE-15 | 12 - 18 | ||
| 25 | MCE-25 | 20 - 30 | |||
| 50 | SFE-50 | SE-50 | 40 - 60 | ||
| 100 | MCE-100 | NE-100 | 80 - 120 | ||
| 400 | MCE-400 | SFE-400 | 300 - 560 | ||
| 1500 | MCE-1500 | 1125 - 2100 | |||
| 4000 | MCE-4000 | SFE-4000 | NE-4000 | 3000 - 5600 | |
| 110000 | MCE-100TS | 82500 - 154000 | |||
*2 % aqueous viscosity at 20 ℃