Polyglycerol Esters of Fatty Acids (E475)

About This Product

Polyglycerol esters of fatty acids, E475 and often abbreviated PGE or PGFE, are made by polymerising glycerol into short chains of two to ten units and esterifying them with fatty acids. They range from oily liquids to waxy solids depending on the chain length and the acid used.

What makes this family useful is that its properties are designed rather than given. Every extra glycerol unit adds hydroxyl groups and pushes the molecule towards water; every extra or longer fatty acid chain pushes it back towards oil. A producer can therefore deliver an HLB anywhere from about 3 to about 13 from the same chemistry, which is why one E-number covers emulsifiers doing quite different jobs. Triglycerol monostearate sits at the lipophilic end and controls crystal size in margarine and shortening; decaglycerol esters sit at the hydrophilic end and act as aerating and foaming agents in cake gels and whipped products. Polyglycerol polyricinoleate, the PGPR of E476, is the best known relative: a few tenths of a percent collapses the yield value of molten chocolate, which is how a chocolate can be made to flow in a moulding line without adding expensive cocoa butter. The practical point for a formulator is that the grade, not the E-number, determines the effect, so the polymerisation degree and the fatty acid have to be specified on the order.

It is used in cake gels and aerated batters, in whipped toppings and fillings, for viscosity control in chocolate and compound coatings, for crystal modification in margarine and shortening, and as an emulsifier in beverage and flavour emulsions.

Bio Green Foods supplies polyglycerol esters of fatty acids to specification on polymerisation degree, fatty acid type, HLB, hydroxyl value and acid value, in 20 kg or 200 kg drums. State the application, since the right grade follows from it.