Company Profile
Product Description
Agar, famously known as agar-agar, is a versatile, gelatin-like substance cherished for its unique properties. Delve into the comprehensive product details of our premium agar offering:
1. Source of Raw Materials
- Our agar is predominantly extracted from exquisite seaweeds like Eucheuma, Gelidium, and Gracilaria. Gracilaria, a warm-water alga, flourishes in tropical, subtropical, and temperate waters. Its natural bounty is most abundant along the coasts of Argentina and Chile, with significant presence in Brazil, South Africa, Japan, China, and the Philippines. Within China, its rich distribution spans the South China Sea and the East China Sea, with a lesser presence in the Yellow Sea.
2. Physical Properties
- Appearance: Our agar boasts a colorless, amorphous solid form. Its hue ranges from pristine white to a gentle yellow, offering a translucent allure. Available in diverse forms such as strips, flakes, granules, powder, thin-film ribbons, and fragments, it adapts to varied applications.
- Texture: Featuring a delightfully slippery, gelatin-like texture, agar remains insoluble in cold water, requiring heat for dissolution. Remarkably, agar acquired through alcohol precipitation sans drying dissolves in water at a mere 25°C, forming a gel upon cooling. In contrast, dried powdered agar demands hot water for solubility.
- Gelling and Stability: High-purity agar, primarily composed of agarose via conventional freeze-thaw methods, showcases a gelling temperature between 32-39°C and a melting temperature ranging from 60-97°C.
3. Chemical Composition
- Agar's primary ingredient is the sulfate ester of polygalactose, enriched with a carbohydrate content of 73.4%. It contains 1% protein, is devoid of fat and phosphorus, and includes 0.47% calcium and 0.01% iron.
4. Production Process
- The journey from raw agar seaweeds to the final product begins with hot water extraction, followed by hot filtration. As the filtrate cools, it forms a gel, paving the way for agar through meticulous dehydration. The nuances of this process may vary slightly among manufacturers and according to specific product requirements.
5. Quality Identification
- Label and Instructions: Adherence to food label regulations is paramount, showcasing QS/SC marks, product names, and crucial manufacturer information.
- Color: Superior quality agar glows with a bright, glossy white, whereas inferior agar appears yellowish and lackluster. Imitation agar may be white but lacks the desired sheen.
- Appearance: Premium agar exhibits immaculate cleanliness and striking transparency, while lower-quality varieties are opaque, and counterfeit agar contains impurities with poor transparency.
- Texture: Excellent quality agar boasts high elasticity, toughness, and remarkable firmness. Conversely, lesser quality agar displays weak elasticity, dryness, brittleness, and lacks toughness.
- Dissolution: In a 1% aqueous solution, authentic agar remains impurity-free, whereas fake agar reveals an abundance of insoluble substances when submerged in water.
- Soaking: When soaked in cold or warm water for about 30 minutes, genuine agar shows no signs of absorption, expansion, or recovery, whereas imitation agar rapidly absorbs water, expands, and bounces back.
6. Uses
- Food Industry: In the vibrant food industry, this versatile ingredient performs a symphony of roles: as a bulking agent, thickener, emulsifier, gelling agent, stabilizer, excipient, suspending agent, and water-retaining marvel. Its widespread use spans delightful confectioneries, canned delicacies, refreshing jellies, tantalizing beverages, and exquisite frozen desserts. Picture this: it's the magic gelling agent crafting those irresistible gummy candies, the essential excipient enhancing canned foods, the suspending maestro in beverages, and the stabilizing force in jellies. Plus, it waves its wand to reduce ice crystals, elevating heat resistance in your favorite frozen treats.
- Biological Field: In the realm of biological exploration, it stands as a pivotal culture medium nurturing bacteria, fungi, and diverse microorganisms, providing the essential support for their flourishing growth. In advanced biological research, it serves as a crucial tool for investigating nucleic acids and much more, opening doors to groundbreaking scientific discoveries.
- Other Fields: Within the pharmaceutical landscape, it proves invaluable in the crafting of capsules and soothing ointments. Meanwhile, in the daily chemical world, it lends its thickening prowess to enhance the quality of cosmetics, ensuring a silky and luxurious feel.
7. Safety
- Esteemed for its safety, this agar proudly holds the highest safety classification, A1, by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the World Health Organization in the realm of Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI), signifying no restrictions on daily consumption. However, caution should be exercised, as consuming it without adequate water may lead to expansion in the esophagus or intestines, posing potential risks.
8. Storage Methods
- To preserve its exceptional quality, store it in a dry environment. Maintaining a temperature between 18-25°C is key to prolonging its lifespan. Additionally, it is wise to avoid storing it alongside items with strong odors to ensure its pure and natural essence remains intact.
Our Advantages
){kind=link}