What do you often ask us?

‘Food additive’ means a substance that is intentionally added to food to improve or preserve the shelf life, appearance, consistency, taste and flavour. These substances are also called additives, colloquially known as “écs”.

For Amylon, a.s., a significant food additive is a colouring agent. In most of our products and in the development of new products, we aim to use natural dyes, which are often obtained from plant extracts.

Additives can be of natural or synthetic origin. Organic products may contain only certain natural additives. For example, Organic Strawberry Pudding contains the natural additive Organic Dried Beetroot.

When developing new products, the Amylon brand also keeps in mind customers with a gluten-free diet, which is increasing. Our Bio puddings and small sachets such as Bio baking powder, Bio agar etc. are gluten-free, and our new Couscous range in the fast food category is also gluten-free thanks to corn couscous.

In Europe, for example, there is a well-known certification system with the “Crossed Cob” logo, which indicates that a food is gluten-free. Our gluten-free foods are also marked with this logo.

Other certifications include the “Gluten-Free Symbol” or the “Gluten-Free Certification Organization” (GFCO) logo. These certifications ensure that the food meets certain gluten-free standards.

Instant products are actually quickly prepared dehydrated products. Dehydrating products is basically removing the water from the product and dispensing with any preservatives, adding water returns the food to its original state. Most of the time, all you have to do is cover them with water, let them swell for a while and then they can be eaten. The cooking time varies, usually a few minutes, sometimes just a few seconds. These products tend to be ideal for travellers or for use without the actual ability to cook.

Only Couscous from the Fast Food category is sold as “instant” under the Amylon brand. While these meals are instant, they are made only from carefully selected quality ingredients without the addition of chemical ingredients. Since they are made from corn couscous, they are also gluten-free.

Monosodium glutamate is the sodium salt of glutamic acid, one of the natural amino acids found in all living organisms (including the human body), mostly as part of proteins.

Glutamate is also found in natural foods and is found, for example, in most mushrooms, which have a characteristic taste, in some cheeses (especially Parmesan and Roquefort) and in ripe tomatoes. The seaweed Laminaria japonica, which has been used by Japanese cooks since the 5th century to flavour dishes and is widely cultivated in Japan and China, has an exceptionally high content.

Glutamate is used to increase the intensity of the flavour of food and is a typical flavouring in Asian cuisine, where it is considered a fifth flavour called ‘umami’ alongside the four basic flavours (sweet, bitter, salty and sour).

If monosodium glutamate has been added to the product, it must be indicated in the product’s ingredients, either by the words ‘flavour enhancer monosodium glutamate’ or by the code E 621.

NO monosodium glutamate in Amylon products

Amylon tries not to use palm oil in its products unless necessary. Unfortunately, due to its unique properties, it is included in our Whipped Cream Powder. We have not yet found an adequate alternative for this product.