Mono+Glyceride

Mono Glyceride

What is it? It is nothing more than a single (mono) bonded long chained carboxylic acid bonded to a glycerin (refer to Glycerin via Navigation bar) molecule (1).

Sounds freakishly dangerous, doesn't it? Well, it's not. It is completely safe. It is used in small doses in cakes and cookies and most baked goods. Like the Entenmann's cake you had last week. Or the Safeway cinnamon raisin bagel you ate this morning. All made with a healthy dosage of mono glyceride! Well... it's actually not really known what it does to your fat metabolism (3)... So you might be getting fat because of the mono glyceride. Or maybe it's because you eat too much cake. But other than that, it's pretty safe! There have been no reported deaths due to mono glyceride and, when consumed in reasonable amounts, there is no possibility of being poisoned by mono glyceride (3). And the proof is in what you eat; mono glyceride is found in almost every food product out there. Enjoy your cake.

Why is it in food? Mono glyceride is used in small amounts inside of our food (mainly found in baked goods such as cake and other pastries which you shouldn't be eating anyways). It is an emulsifier meaning that it can mix two liquids together that normally would not mix at all (such as oil and water) which is used in bread or whip cream (2). It is in any mixed diets(3).

What are the properties of it? Mono glycerides and other glycerides emulsify, stabilize, and disperse food products (2). So with foods that need ingredients that don't mix (such as water and oils) and monoglyceride isn't there naturally, you can add it in distilled form to mix the ingredients.



Works Cited
 * 1) Egling, Sue. "Structure of Fats." Clackamas Community College Distance Learning. Clackamas Community College, Hal Bender, 2001, 2003. Web. 10 Nov. 2010. .
 * 2) Hangzhou Fuchun Food Additive Co., Ltd. "Distilled Monoglyceride--GMS 95 (E471) - China Food Additive in Instant Noodle,Pasta,Extrusion Snacks in Food Additive."China Food Additive, Distilled Glycerin Monostearate (DMG), Monoglyceride(GMS), Distilled Glycerol Monolaurate(GML) 90%, Consumption of Defoamers, Polyglycerol Esters of Fatty Acids(PGEF) Manufacturer - Hangzhou Fuchun Food Additive Co., Ltd. Made-in-China.com, 2010. Web. 10 Nov. 2010. .
 * 3) WHO FOOD ADDITIVES SERIES NO. 5. "301. Mono- and Diglycerides (WHO Food Additives Series 5)." IPCS INCHEM. IPCS Inchem. Web. 10 Nov. 2010. .