Is Calcium Propionate Safe? | Ask Dr. Lin Ep 3 | BAKERpedia

How does calcium propionate (Cal Pro) work as a shelf-life extender and is it safe to bake with it? Thank you for catching me on today’s Ask Dr. Lin. Today we’re going to talk about calcium propionate and shelf life!

Learn more about calcium propionate on BAKERpedia: http://bakerpedia.com/ingredients/calcium-propionate/
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Let’s start with this comment is from Agnes in the UK: “I don’t understand how people can’t correlate the activity of calcium propionate in the bread with its activity on the human gut. Human health relies on the ‘good’ bacteria in the gut. I strongly believe that calcium propionate sterilize human gut in the same action as it does in the bread.”

Many decades ago, ROPE was a big problem and Cal Pro worked effectively against this and mold.

Cal Pro affects the MC of the mold or bacteria. That’s right MC, the powerhouse of the mold. For this to happen, you have to be that specific bacteria mold or a spore. It’s not a general antibiotic which kills everything, remember. A recent study in 2016 showed that PA affects fungal cell death through mitochondria mediated apoptosis. Which means, it distracts the mold cell by stopping the powerhouse within.

Studies indicate that Cal Pro is one of the SAFEST food additives. Rats fed 4% Cal Pro for a year showed no ill effects. As a result, FDA placed no limitations on its use in foods.

Now, Cal Pro is not stored up in your body, like what you think. It’s broken down, and your body consumes the calcium portion, filtering out the rest of the propionic acid. Why do you think the rats could consume 10 times the amount of Cal Pro and still nothing happened?

Therefore, there is no immediate risk of Cal Pro ever creating an apocalyptic scene in your gut. So relax.

It is also used in rubber to help stop it from scorching. Like many other food ingredients used in other industries (salt, anyone?) ingredients are used here before they are used anywhere else for anything. So don’t get too caught up on other uses, ok?

Laurent asks, “What is the correct pH of water to use with calcium propionate to work well?”

It’s not the pH of the water, it’s the fermentation process. If the dough is too basic, the Cal Pro won’t work. That is why you need to bring it down to below 5.5 pH, by adding vinegar or giving it more fermentation time to make it more acidic.

Therefore, you know why you see more molding in short time or straight doughs. That’s right, not enough production of these acids.

Natasha asks, “Can Cal Pro be used in cakes?”

Calcium interferes with the chemical leavening action, so it’s mostly used in doughs and naturally leavened products. For cakes, try sorbic acid or potassium sorbate which would be more effective and provide a longer shelf life.

SHE-IK asks, “ My Indian Bread doesn’t get a shelf life of 7 to 8 days, but only 3, what is the reason?”

Well, Cal Pro is the band aid, not the cure. Be clean, use gloves and cool properly.

Rhiannon asks, “ Would you recommend to spray calcium propionate onto yeast risen donuts after frying?”

Boy, that would be expensive. Not only that, it would be ineffective. Plus there are other cheaper ways of doing this, like cleaning and using gloves.

At the end of the day, if you want shelf life extension, it’s not how much Cal Pro you use, but also how you use it. This means thinking about sanitation and GMP.

Also, if you need a natural solution, don’t forget cultured wheat and the best thing about this is: It’s a naturally fermented product and it actually looks good on your label.

Alright, till the next session. Please don’t overdose on Cal pro because that’s going to make your product stink. Don’t give bakery products a bad name now, ok?

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