Seeking Natural Source of Benzoic Acid

Background

PepsiCo Global Beverages is on a journey for clean-label beverages, with a focus on innovation and productivity. Within this realm, the Global Science Platform (GSP) team has a Natural Preservative program that investigates the use of novel clean label ingredients as preservatives in high acid cold fill carbonated and non-carbonated beverages. The GSP team is looking for natural extracts that could potentially replace benzoic acid in beverages. The ingredient label needs to be clean extracts only. The cost target in the range of $0.02 to $0.05 cents per serving (8 fl. oz) will be acceptable to balance the system cost savings.

Key Success Criteria

Must-Haves

• Physical-Chemical Properties:
  • Water soluble; minimum 10X of level of usage
  • Stable to heat (up to 110°F for 8 weeks or 90°F for 12 weeks), light, UV, oxygen and high acid (pH 2.8 – 3.5) up to 6 months
  • Analytical method to test for active compound.
• Neutral in taste and color
• If the solution is a mixture (e.g., extract), PepsiCo needs to know the active compounds.
• Safe to consume.
• Meets cost guardrails.
• Label friendly
• Kosher and non-GMO status
• IP, Freedom to operate.

Nice-to-Haves

• Halal
• GRAS or self-GRAS approved or high potential to get approved.
• Vendors should be willing to share documents to support the safety usage in beverages.
• Technical information such as origin of the ingredient and process of making the ingredient.
• Name on the label
• Global regulatory map
• Supply chain

Approaches not of interest

FEMA GRAS ingredients NOT in scope.