Ashland Launches Guar Gum Alternative for the Chinese Market at China Food Ingredients

Ashland Specialty Additives, a division of Ashland Corporation (NYSE: ASH), will launch its Aquacel™ carboxylate specially developed for the Chinese market at the China International Food Ingredients Exhibition held in Shanghai from March 28 to 30. Sodium methylcellulose series products, these two new grades are specially tailored for noodle and dairy applications.

“Volatility in the price of guar is largely driven by market demand for oil and gas, which is driving formulators to seek alternative products,” explains Laurie Kronenberg, manager of new product development for nutritional specialties at Ashland Specialty Ingredients "Sodium carboxymethylcellulose is a cost-effective alternative that can be widely used in beverages, bakery products and dairy products."

"Through continuous innovation and research, we help our customers meet current and future market needs." Added Liu Haifeng, Senior Engineer, Nutritional Specialties, Asia Pacific, Ashland Specialty Additives, "The newly launched Aquacel sodium carboxymethylcellulose is developed by us. The global team jointly developed and provided formulation engineers with a strong and effective substitute for guar gum. Formulation engineers can add a greater proportion of Aquacel sodium carboxymethylcellulose to replace guar gum in their developed formulations , not only maximize the synergistic thickening effect of the two, but also minimize the amount of guar gum in the formula.”

China International Food Ingredients Exhibition is the largest and most authoritative international food ingredients exhibition in Asia. At the show, Mark Hines, Chief Scientist, Nutritional Specialties, Ashland Specialty Additives, will host a technical seminar focusing on how these two new grades of sodium carboxymethylcellulose can help food manufacturers mitigate the pressure from shortages.

"Ashland provides the market with a rich array of healthy and nutritious additives through a network of research and development scientists around the world. Our goal is to provide product solutions for our customers to help them develop healthier and more nutritious foods." Asia “In other words, we bring health to everyday life,” said Mr. Di Nando, vice president of Asia Pacific at Shilan Specialty Additives.

Ashland is the world's leading supplier of cellulosic food ingredients. Our products can meet customers' requirements for health, convenience, high quality and ease of processing in most applications. Ashland creates value for customers through application expertise, market insights and a broad product portfolio, including: Aquacel, Aquasorb™, Aqualon™ and Bondwell™ sodium carboxymethylcellulose (CMC); Benecel™ methylcellulose (MC) and Hydroxypropyl Methyl Cellulose (HPMC), Klucel™ and Aerowhip™ Hydroxypropyl Cellulose (HPC) and Supercol™ Guar Gum.

Ashland Specialty Additives offers an industry-leading portfolio of products, technologies and resources to solve formulation or product performance challenges in a wide variety of applications, including personal care, pharmaceuticals, food and beverage, coatings and energy industries. Using natural, synthetic or semi-synthetic polymers derived from plants or plant seeds, as well as cellulose ethers and vinylpyrrolidones, Ashland Specialty Additives provides comprehensive and innovative solutions for today's demanding consumer and industrial applications.

Ashland Group (NYSE: ASH) provides specialty chemical products, technologies and innovative ideas to more than 100 countries around the world, helping customers create new or improved products and forward-looking sustainable solutions. Ashland chemicals are used in every aspect of everyday life, from automotive, food and beverage, personal care products, pharmaceuticals, graphic and tissue papers to durable goods and infrastructure such as building and construction, energy and water treatment and more field.