The company claims that the ingredient is a 'natural and cost-effective solution' to protecting meat and poultry flavour and taste. "Guardian green tea extracts were specifically selected for their outstanding antioxidative properties on heat-treated meat and poultry products," said the firm in a statement. Green tea is traditionally positioned as a flavour agent used mostly in beverages. But Danisco believes that the ingredient has greater potential. It claims to be the first ingredient company to use the antioxidative properties of green tea to effectively protect the shelf life of meat and poultry products. Guardian green tea extracts is the latest in the firm's range of food protection ingredients, and the company is clearly intent on tapping the trend for natural solutions. Danisco claims that natural antioxidants - including herbal extracts - are performing particularly well with a growth rate comprised between 6 and 8 per cent per year worldwide, at the expense of synthetic solutions. "Green tea extracts are demonstrating flavour performances on meat products that are superior than synthetic antioxidants such as BHA," said the company in a statement. "Furthermore, this new range is also very cost-effective compared to other natural solutions and brings a healthy and natural brand image to meat products." The ingredient is part of the Danisco food protection range, which also includes Guardian rosemary extracts, Grindox and Embanox antioxidants, Texel meat cultures and Holdbac protective cultures.
