Enzymes keep bread fresher for longer

Bread is one of the world’s most widely consumed foods. The average European citizen eats around 50kg a year and has high expectations of the bread’s freshness, taste and elasticity. But, for all its popularity, huge volumes of bread go to waste, after turning dry, hard and unappealing.

According to FAO – Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations – in industrialized countries, consumers annually throw away 286 million tons of cereal products, a category that includes bread.

Bakery enzymes delay the bread staling process, contributing to reduced food waste and more sustainable production

Today, bakers have good opportunities to extend the just-baked freshness of bread as well as enhance its appearance. The answer are enzymes – natural processing aids produced by bacteria, yeasts and moulds.

A natural aid

The Danish ingredient company Novonesis is the world’s largest enzyme producer. Its powerful anti-staling bakery enzymes Novamyl®, Sensea® and OptiCake® Excel are specially designed to improve the moistness, crumb softness, elasticity and mouthfeel of a wide range of artisanal and industrial bakery products.

Baking enzymes not only help to reduce food waste. As a natural processing aid, they also extend bread freshness in the most natural way possible – often reducing the need for additives.

Effective against waste

The fresh-keeping enzymes are effective even when bread is exposed to poor storage conditions or a hot and humid climate so consumers waste less and spend less on meeting their bread needs.