Agar Agar
Your Premier Agar Agar Suppliers & Manufacturers
Handbook of Hydrocolloids: A Guide to Agar Agar
Agar is a seaweed hydrocolloid with a long history of use as a gelling, thickening, and stabilizing food additive.
The use of agar in foods is widespread throughout the Far East, including Japan, China, Korea, the Philippines, and Indonesia, and it has contributed significantly to the food customs in these countries for 350 years.
Agar could also be widely used for solid culture media in microbiology.
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Table of Contents
Products We Offer
As one of the professional and experienced agar agar suppliers in China, Gino could offer a whole range of agar products:
Technical Data Sheet
In the Technical Data Sheet, you will find its sensory characteristics, chemical and physical characteristics, and microbiological characteristics,
so click the below button to download the full TDS of our Agar Agar.
Packaging
As a professional and responsible agar agar company in China, Gino Biotech provides food systems solutions to many industries, at the same time, flexible packaging solutions could also be provided. We will help you boost your business and make you stand out from the competition by offering you custom packaging.
If now we don’t have what you need, then we will offer you later!
Carton Box
Fiber Drum
Tin Box
Kraft Bag
PP Woven Bag
Composition
Soluble nitrogen-free substance 73.5%
Crude protein 2.5%
Crude fat 0.5%
Ash 3.5%
Moisture 20.0%
Agar Properties
Features
| E-No. | E 406 |
| Origin | Seaweed extract |
Chemical composition | Galactose and anhydro-galactose; low sulfate content (<4.5%, mostly 1.5–2.5%) |
| Nutritional value (in 100 g) – metabolism | 1425 kJ (340 kcal); slow resorption |
| Fiber content | 2.2% (42% protein, 36% carbohydrates) |
| Toxicology | No health concerns, consumption generally 1–2 g per day (mild laxative effect at 6 g per day); no ADI value defined; considered as food in Asia, not as an additive |
| Solubility at low temperature (H2O) | Insoluble |
| Appearance of an aqueous solution | Opaque, yellowish |
| Viscosity of solution in water | Low, insoluble in cold water |
| Impact of heat on viscosity in water (pH 7) | Soluble at T>80 °C (176 °F) |
Viscosity development in water at pH 7 (T=0–100 °C) | Forms a thermoreversible gel after the dissolution and cooling to 35 °C (95 °F) (gel melts at T>85 °C (185 °F)) |
| Shear stability | High |
| Thickening effect | High (gel formation) |
| pH stability | Medium, hydrolysis by cooking in an acidic system |
| Decomposition | Combination of heat+low pH (below pH 4) |
| Film formation | High |
| Emulsion stabilization | No |
| Gelation | Thermoreversible gelation after heating to T>80 °C (176 °F) and cooling to 35 °C (95 °F); also gels in saturated sugar solutions; gelation temperature is independent of sugar concentration |
| Gel strength and gel stability | High gel strength, gels are highly heat-stable |
| Gel transparency | Low |
| Tendency for gel synaeresis | High |
| Impact of electrolytes (cations +, 2+, 3+) | No |
| Reaction with Ca2+ ions | No |
| Protein activity | Low/no |
| Crystallization control | No |
Synergistic effects with other hydrocolloids | + LBG or guar: less syneresis, more elasticity; + 10% LBG: maximum gel strength (+8%); + 10% konjac: maximum gel strength |
| Other synergistic effects | Enhanced gel strength with high sugar concentrations (>60%) for some agar types |
Negative interactions | Tannic acid can inhibit the gelling process; gum karaya reduces the gel strength of agar gels; Proton scavengers like potassium iodide, urea, Guanidine, sodium thiocyanate, and so on block the gelling process and prevent agarose gel formation |
| Dosage level in foods | Low, typical 0.5-2%, gelation already at 0.2% |
Advantages
Compared with other hydrocolloids, Agar has many advantages, such as:
Plant-Based
A pure vegetable alternative to gelatin and it's perfectly healthy.
Gel hysteresis
The difference between the gelling and the melting temperature - which is around 50-60 °C (90-108 °F)
Low Dosage
Agar forms gels at very low concentrations (at 0.2%). The suggested use level in foods is quite low, typically 0.5-2%.
No cations Needed
Agar does not require cations to gel. Its solubility and gelation are not affected by the addition or presence of electrolytes.
Soluble Fibre
It has a high soluble fiber content that is not metabolized in humans and so it does not add calories to foods.
Agar Benefits
Healthy: Low in calories, fat, sugar, and carbohydrates, but high in soluble fiber; Good for Weight Loss, Digestive Health, Bone Health, and Brain Health.
Vegan: Seaweed-based gums, the perfect substitute for animal-derived gelatin;
Gel performance: Firmer and stronger gel
Lab Use: It can not be degraded by the bacteria, so used as the preferred medium used in laboratories to grow bacteria.
Agar Applications
This combination of benefits results in agar maintaining its position as the hydrocolloid of choice in a number of specific food applications, particularly where firm, short-textured gels with good heat stability and good moisture stabilization are required.
AGAR IN FOOD APPLICATIONS:
- Dairy Products
Ice Creams, Puddings, Flans, Yogurts, Fermented Milk, Sorbets, Gelled Milk - Sweets and Confectionary
Gumdrops, Candy bars, Jelly candies, Jams, Marmalades, Comfitures, Dessert Gel, Meringues - Meat Products
Pureed Meats, Canned fish, Poultry - Beverages
Clarifying and refining juices, beers, wines, and vinegars - Bakery
Cake icings, Pie fillings, Bread dough, Chiffon pies
OTHER INDUSTRIAL APPLICATIONS:
Although agar has multiple applications, the traditional one is a food ingredient that accounts for 80% of its consumption. The remaining 20% is accounted for by biotechnological applications.
Agar-agar gel has the interesting property of inhibiting the characteristic liquefying that occurs in the enzyme action of microorganisms. This property finds a wide variety of applications in the medical and pharmaceutical industries.
Agar-agar is used as a substratum in preparing bacteria cultures in microbiology, as laxatives and therapeutic agents in the treatment of malfunctions of the digestive tract, as a retarding agent and carrier in the management of medicines, antibiotics, vitamins, as a barium sulfate suspension agent in radiology, as a stabilizer in cholesterol solutions, and as a suspension agent in several types of emulsions.
Agar-agar has other industrial applications as well where a gelling agent is needed, such as in dental prosthetics, photographic emulsions, differentiation of proteins through electrophoresis, chromatography through the exclusion of sizes, molding of materials, and as plant culture tissues in biotechnology.
- Medical and Pharmaceutical Industry
Microbiology, Laxative, Therapeutic agent, Suspension agent of emulsion, Stabilizing agent of solution. - Other applications
Dental prosthetics, Electrophoresis, Chromatography, Impression materials, Biotechnology
Contact Form
As one of the leading agar agar suppliers & manufacturers in China, Gino Biotech will always be your good partner for agar agar and other hydrocolloids from China.
Testimonials
Don’t take our word for it, just hear what our satisfied customers have to say!
We import agar powder and strips from China to Mauritius every month by FCL and LCL. We have several agar agar suppliers not only in China but also in other countries, Gino Biotech is a very good partner, they are very professional and patient. After we order the new order, no need to worry about anything we just need to receive the goods in our warehouse.
Hamza Bayar
We’re a distributor in Ukraine, we import food ingredients including agar powder from China to Ukraine every month.
We started to cooperate with Gino Biotech last year, Gino is indeed good agar suppliers and the best partner, with competitive products and the best service, and we appreciate their work.
Tatyana Svyatnaya
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