Sodium acetate is an organic sodium salt of acetic acid. Highly soluble in water and hygroscopic (i.e. it readily absorbs water from other substances), sodium acetate is widely used across a range of industries. Applications include use as an additive in products as varied as dyes and concrete, as a buffering agent to control pH levels and as a dehydrating agent.
In medicine, sodium acetate is also an important component of electrolyte solutions given to patients intravenously.
Sodium acetate is an equally important and common additive in the food and drink industry. In its anhydrous form (i.e. as a solid), it has a mild salty taste. It is frequently used in combination with stronger-tasting acetic acid, acting as a buffer to balance out the harsher acidic flavours to create a pleasant salt and vinegar taste.
Commonly used as a seasoning in meat products, spice blends, ready meals, beverages and fruit preserves, sodium acetate also doubles up as a preservative as it is effective in inhibiting bacteria growth.
The addition of food grade sodium acetate marks the latest expansion of Norkem Quimica’s food and drink range. Based in Valencia, Norkem Quimica supplies chemical products to a global customer base across a wide range of industries. It plays a key role in our European supply chain, connecting suppliers on the continent to our UK headquarters and from there to our customers around the globe.
Norkem Quimica’s strategic importance has increased since Brexit, helping us to minimise the impact of new tariffs and extra import and export administration across our global supply chains. This has ensured we’ve been able to keep stocks of key products high in spite of other pressures, including the COVID-19 pandemic.
For example, global supply of low-calorie sweeteners and probiotic fibres such as inulin have come under severe pressure in the past 18 months due to a combination of soaring demand and supply chain disruption. But thanks in part to our growing business in Spain, we’ve been able to keep supplies of products like GOFOS moving.
GOFOS is a fructo-oligosaccharide, an organic water-soluble prebiotic fibre derived from sugar beet. It is growing in popularity as an alternative to inulin because it is also sweet. That makes it perfect for adding healthy dietary fibre to cakes and deserts, doubling up as an all-natural sweetener that also promotes good gut health.
Sodium acetate is now readily available in the UK and throughout the markets we operate in globally.