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When a large beverage company discovered particulates in their new formula just weeks before launch of a new energy drink, they were in trouble. They knew how much was at risk if they couldn’t solve solubility issues with the sweetener in the product, but they didn’t know what to do.

The mystery

Particulates ranging from a few micrometers to half a millimeter were observed constantly in the formulation. A number of things had been tried at the plant, including increasing the mixing, raising the temperature, and adjusting the order of ingredient addition, all with no success. It was two weeks before product launch, and they were running out of time. The Cargill technical service manager contacted the Cargill food forensics team.

Cue the detectives

The Cargill team sprang into action. Particles from the beverage were isolated and examined under a light microscope. The appearance suggested plastic instead of insoluble clumps of sweetener. Now this was a food safety issue — with even bigger threats. Chemical ID was performed with FTIR, or Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy, a technique used to obtain an infrared spectrum of absorption or emission of a solid, liquid or gas. With it, the detectives discovered the particles were polyethylene. But from where?

A series of root cause analysis were carried out at both the beverage and the sweetener production facilities, and no source of polyethylene was found. The evidence pointed to a possible source — a contract manufacturing company hired by the sweetener producer.

The high-intensity sweetener was extracted from stevia plant leaves, and dried to a fine powder form. The contract manufacturer used a piece of equipment to compress the powder into large chunks and then break them into particles of desired sizes, depending on application. The Cargill Food Forensics team performed chemical ID on all of the equipment’s plastic parts.. Finally, they spotted a wear mark — on a plastic plate used inside the equipment as a seal. It was confirmed as the source of the polyethylene particles.

High-stakes save

The contract manufacturer went to the equipment manufacturer for modification of the seal part. The problem, which potentially affected three projects between the two companies with business value of over $15 million, was solved.

At the ready

The food detectives are a global team of over 20 scientists in North America, Europe and China within Cargill’s Ingredient, Material and Nutrition Research group. More commonly referred to as (IMN), they work on cases with huge potential risks to our partners. When a mystery surfaces — from a strange smell to a curious color to a shift in texture — it’s the team’s job to dig deep, research every lead, and piece together the clues.

The trust level of IMN is so high that customers have asked for help even when a Cargill ingredient isn’t at the root of the problem. They’ve proven that when customers need answers, they find them. So even when a case is closed, our partnership continues to grow.