6. Outlook

6.1 The future of xanthan gum

The U.S. food market continues to grow, and Europe as well as Asia and South America are set to follow. Indeed, the Americanization of eating habits and the comfort provided by industrial foods for families who spend less and less time in the kitchen should lead to the development of xanthan gum. Natural texturizing ingredients do not stand up well to violent treatment on production lines or during storage, nor do they provide sufficient properties for long-term food stability and to satisfy the creativity of new product designers. What's more, consumers are increasingly looking for low-calorie foods. In the past, fats and sugars played the role of texturizers. The incorporation of non-digestible xanthan gum goes some way to alleviating this handicap....