Excellent protection: LANXESS wins Just Drinks Excellence Awards 2023

LANXESS has won the Just Drinks Excellence Awards 2023 in the categories of “Innovation” and “Product Launches”. The online magazine “Just Drinks” gave the awards to recognize the innovative natural preservative Nagardo and its market launch.

Nagardo can be used for a range of beverage types, including carbonated and still soft drinks, ready-to-drink teas, kombucha or non-alcoholic beer. It received EU approval in 2022, making it the first new preservative to be approved for use in non-alcoholic beverages in the European Union in more than 40 years. The ingredient can be integrated into the existing production process and also makes it possible for companies to use marketing-friendly claims such as “free from artificial preservatives”.

The prestigious Just Drinks Excellence Awards is an independent recognition program based on GlobalData’s business intelligence. A team of researchers and journalists uses artificial intelligence to analyze more than one billion data records over the course of the year to identify, support and evaluate top companies and their performance in more than 200 countries.

Last year, LANXESS received the 2022 World Beverage Innovation Award in the “Best Beverage Ingredient” category.

“The fact that Nagardo has again received an award serves as recognition of the innovative strength of our technology and confirmation of the many years of work by all colleagues involved,” says Monika Ebener, Director Market Segment Natural Antimicrobials in the Material Protection Products (MPP) business unit at LANXESS.

Natural glycolipids offer the highest antimicrobial performance

The protection offered by Nagardo is based on the bright orange fungus Dacryopinax spathularia, which was discovered in French Guiana. In a screening of more than 100,000 natural substances, the glycolipids that make up Nagardo were found to be the most effective in providing the antimicrobial properties needed to protect beverages. In addition to performance, Nagardo also meets stringent industry requirements for safety and does not affect taste.

Nagardo’s natural glycolipids are very efficient in preserving the quality of a beverage. The product has demonstrated high efficacy against a wide range of microorganisms that cause beverage spoilage, such as yeasts, molds and bacteria. Nagardo can also eliminate organisms that are adapted to commonly used preservatives or even heat resistant.

Effective protection for beverages avoids waste

“Avoiding food and beverage waste is key when it comes to the sustainability goals set by the United Nations, particularly the goal of sustainable consumption and production. It is also what our Beverage Technology business line concerns itself with,” emphasizes Monika Ebener.

“Manufacturers of non-alcoholic beverages who want to join the trend toward ‘better-for-you’ products without synthetic preservatives invest a lot of energy in hot-fill processes, tunnel pasteurizers or other thermal processes, and cold chain logistics. Nagardo’s natural beverage preservative provides the missing element to make natural beverages with the required shelf life and sensory profile possible,” Ebener adds.

Global approval planned for Nagardo

LANXESS is committed to offering its preservative to beverage manufacturers worldwide in the future. Following the market launch in the U.S. in 2019, LANXESS also obtained approval for Nagardo in Australia and New Zealand two years later. Further global expansion saw approvals in the European Union and Canada. Recent clearances in Ecuador, Colombia and Peru now increase the opportunities for beverage innovation in South America.

The natural protection for beverages was reviewed by consumer protection authorities in Colombia (Instituto Nacional de Vigilancia de Medicamentos y Alimentos, INVIMA) and approved as a preservative for soft drinks.

Peru and Ecuador do not have a dedicated approval process for food additives. To allow the use of Nagardo in these countries, both the Dirección General de Salud Ambiental e Inocuidad Alimentaria (DIGESA) in Peru and the Agencia nacional de Regulación, Control y Vigilancia Santaria (ARCSA) in Ecuador have reviewed and allow its use in beverages in accordance with the EU and U.S. approval requirements.

EU approval of Nagardo endorsed by EEA countries

The Agreement on the European Economic Area (EEA) incorporates the three European Free Trade Association (EFTA) countries – Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway (EEA EFTA countries) – into the EU single market. Regulations issued at the European level go through a separate review process within a joint EEA committee, which has now come to the conclusion to include EU approval in the EEA Directive. As a result, Nagardo may now also be used as a preservative for soft drinks in Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. Switzerland, which is an EFTA country but not part of the EEA, can also be served.

Detailed information on Nagardo is available online at www.nagardo.com.