How to choose food preservatives

FREUND’s food preservatives that prevent the deterioration of foods are broadly divided into three types.

Ethanol evaporation agent

Ethanol gas is subject to evaporation in sealed packaging to prevent the growth of mold and also retain “softness” and “moistness” of foods.
Ethanol evaporation agent + Oxygen absorber

The strongest bacteriostatic effect is exerted by combining the two functions.
Oxygen absorber

Oxygen in sealed packaging is absorbed to prevent the growth of mold and also prevent deterioration by oxidation.

Choose by water activity value (Aw) and typical examples of foods
Choose by purpose (flow chart)

Choose by water activity value (Aw) and typical examples of foods

Ranges of food preservatives that are compatible with water activity values (Aw) are shown below. Choose by referring to typical examples of foods.

What is water activity (Aw)?

There are two main types of water contained in foods: “free water” and “bound water.”
“Free water,” easily evaporates and migrates, and can be used to propagate microorganisms.
“Bound water” binds to proteins and carbohydrates in foods.
Water activity is expressed as a numerical value showing the amount of “free water” and is an indicator of preservability of foods.

* The water activity value is defined as the relative humidity on the surface of foods.

As an example, jam is a food containing a high moisture content, but its water activity is not so high because much of the water is bound to sugar.
On the other hand, white bread is fairly high in water activity because it contains little sugar and salt.

The EZ-200, which enables high-precision and short-time measurements and includes a color touch panel, is the only made-in-Japan water activity meter.

Choose by purpose (flow chart)

Inquiries related to how to choose a product

Product Lineup

Antimold-Mild^®

Ethanol evaporation agent Anti-mold Softness Moistness

Based on our formulation technology, ethanol is powdered with special technology and packed in sachets.
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Antimold^® Tender

Ethanol evaporation agent Anti-mold Softness Moistness

The world's first food food preservative that uses gel ethanol. It uses low-concentration ethanol to wrap food with a gentle aroma.
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Negamold^®

Ethanol evaporation agent + Oxygen absorber Antioxidant Softness Moistness Anti-yeast

This is a new type of food preservative that combines the bacteriostatic function of ethanol with the inhibitory function of oxygen absorber.
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Negamold^® Light

Ethanol evaporation agent + Oxygen absorber Antioxidant Softness Moistness

In addition to its microbial bacteriostatic and antioxidant functions, it is a new food preservative characterized by its ability to retain the "moistness" and "softness" of food.
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Negamold^®Z

Oxygen absorber Insect repellent Antioxidant Discoloration prevention

We have added an ethanol-free Oxygen absorber to our lineup of "Negamold^®" products.
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