Kerry introduced Biobake Fresh Rich, an enzyme solution for sweet baked goods designed to deliver longer-lasting softness, freshness and moistness perception over shelf life. 

The company says that Biobake Fresh Rich is a clean-label starch-acting enzyme that enables baked goods containing more than 20% sugar to remain fresher for a longer period of time. It is designed to create a softer, more consistent and more flexible crumb structure. 

Baked goods are the largest category of food waste globally and, as such, extending their shelf life is an important means of waste reduction, the company says. Maintaining product quality over longer shelf life can contribute to a more sustainable future by reducing the likelihood of the bakery products being thrown away by consumers. 

Deborah Waters, product director for enzymes at Kerry, says, “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.” 

“Our recent Kerry global consumer research conducted with 5,154 consumers in 10 countries confirmed enormous support around the world for reducing food waste through shelf-life extension. It found 98% of consumers are actively trying to reduce food waste, over 72% believe improving shelf life would help reduce waste and one-third would be willing to switch brand loyalties for a longer shelf life. Biobake Fresh Rich can help bakers address these important evolving consumer desires, all while allowing manufacturers to contribute to a more sustainable environment.”

Biobake Fresh Rich comes in a dispersible dry format and has a neutral taste, the company says. It is suitable for kosher, halal, vegetarian and vegan product manufacture. In recent sensory trials versus a benchmark fresh-keeping enzyme over a 12-week shelf life, Biobake Fresh Rich significantly outperformed the benchmark in both softness and moistness perception.