“”LBG was always an exclusive ingredient in the sense that it has very unique functionality,” Linda Yvonne Friis, Global Business Development Manager (systems) at IFF, told FoodNavigator. “Now the prices have skyrocketed. It’s around 7 or 8 times more expensive now than it was five years ago.”
But despite this challenging situation, some manufacturers are reluctant to find alternatives due to concerns over potential quality decreases and the challenge of having to test new ingredients or recipes and all the processes involved, she told us. “You would have expected food manufacturers would have wanted to move away from LBG, but that’s not what we’ve seen so far. You also have to remember that LGB is a tiny part of a food recipe, so you can argue, ‘is it still worth the hassle to change now’? But I do expect, with the prices really increasing significantly still, we will reach a tipping point.””