NTP Gelatine
NTP Gelatine manufactures Gelatine mainly from Animal Hides. The plant is situated about 25 kilometers from the City of Lahore on the Grand Trunk Road which was built by the Mughal Emperors in the 16th Century.

The works were built in 1960 adjacent to a tannery of the same group to utilize the unusable portions of hides procured for tanning. In the 70's the plant was developed to produce high grade Technical Gelatine. in the year 2001 a new plant was built at the same premises to produce Gelatine for edible and Pharmaceutical applications.

IS09001: 2000 Certification
NTP gelatine subjects the manufacture of gelatine according to prescribed and tested procedures. in addition it strives to achieve consistent standards in quality.

Halal and BSE free status
NTP gelatine has been using indigenous raw material as there are no imports of animal products into Pakistan. Pork Is not grown or slaughtered in Pakistan which Is another factor supporting the Gelatine Industry for claiming Halal status. Pakistan is also certified to be free from BSE problems and so commands an advantage in claiming these certifications.

Properties of Gelatins

What is Gelatine?
The name Gelatine was taken from the Latin word Gelatus which means firm, frozen. It is a protein derived by partial hydrolysis of animal collagen which is present in Hides, Skins and Bones of animals. It. is one of the few natural proteins viable enough to be manufactured using the bye-products from the meat Industry. It is used extensively in the food industry to gel, emulsify, bind, and thicken various ingredients.

Gelatine as food
Gelatine Is completely digestible and is free from cholesterol It Is sometimes also recommended as a supplement in food diets especially in cases of excessive exertion. Normally gelatine consists of 85% protein, 13% moisture and 2% minerals. The protein consists of amino acids which are useful for the human body.

Compatibility with other food ingredients
It is compatible with other hydrocolloids (pectin, carrageenan), sugars
)glucose, dextrose) and starches. It is therefore useful for production of various food products with blends of starches and sugars.

Gelling and thermo reversible gel-sol properties
Gelatine solution converts into a gel when It Is cooled below a certain temperature. It converts back to solution state when it is heated. This is known as the thermo-reversible property of Gelatine. This is the most important characteristic of Gelatine for applications.

Foaming nature
Gelatine forms a foam when agitated in solution and comes in useful for making various desserts and confectionery items where foaming plays a major part.

Effect of temperature and ph on gelatine
In solution Gelatine like most other proteins will degrade at higher temperatures If kept for extended periods. There is .a gradual loss of gel strength and viscosity In this condition. To avoid this degradation confectionery makers make a short cooking with starch after which it is immediately flashed in vacuum to bring down the temperature. The degradation at higher temperature Is aggravated further at low pH. Therefore in food applications it is advisable to add acid at the last stage before cooling or gelling of the mass. This practice is followed as a routine in production of Gummy Bears in the confectionery industry.

Effect of bacteria and enzymes
Gelatine being a pure protein has to pass through the production cycle in sanitary conditions as the presence of bacteria can cause degradation of useful properties. The presence of enzymes is another factor for loss of gel strength and viscosity in gelatine solutions.

Quality Standards

Gel Strength
The most important quality of gelatine is to form a gel at a certain temperature. It is expressed In bloom grams.. The British standard (BSIS7) provides the method to determine bloom value by measuring the force required for a plunger of 12.7 mm diameter to penetrate 4mm into a gel of 6.67% concentration kept for 16 to 18 hours at a temperature of 10 ?C. This Bloom value ranges from 70 to 300 bloom grams.

Viscosity
The property of the gelatine solution to flow determines the viscosity of the gelatine. Normally viscosity increases with increasing bloom strength. But the viscosity also depends on the type and quality of the raw material as well as the process adopted.
The British Standard (BS757) specifies that viscosity is measured by recording the time taken by a gelatine solution of 6.67% concentration to flow through a calibrated pipette/ viscometer at a temperature of 60 ?C. normally type B gelatines yield higher viscosity than type A gelatine. Viscosity is lowest near the iso electric paint of the gelatine. As with other solutions the viscosity decreases as the temperature increases.

Ash Contents
The ash content in gelatine builds up during production due to treatment with lime and acids. These salts are then removed prior to concentration by ion exchange resins and about 1% is left over in the final product.
This ash content is determined by ashing a given weight of gelatine at 630 ?C for five hours in a muffle furnace.
Sulphur dioxide is measured by the method which uses steam distillation to release sulphur dioxide from an acidic gelatine solution. The percentage of sulphur dioxide should not exceed levels specified by regulatory authorities of different countries/regions.

Heavy Metals
Heavy metals are found originating from the process. Different regulatory authorities stipulate the maximum percentage of heavy metals that can be present in gelatine for human consumption.

PH Value
The acidity of a 1.0% gelatine solution is measured by using a pH meter. The pH value of gelatine sold for commercial use ranges from 4.8 to 6.3.

Iso electric Point
The iso-electric point of 1% gelatine solution is measured by passing it through mixed ion exchange resins and make pH readings. For alkaline gelatines the iso-electric point normally lies between 4.8 to 5.3.

Microbiological Tests
Gelatine should meet requirements laid down by international standards such as US pharmacopoeia (USP), British pharmacopoeia (BP) etc.

Colour & Clarity
Colour of Gelatine varies from pale yellow to nearly transparent. It is measured by readings of emission and absorption on a spectro-photorneter. Clarity of gelatine is determined by a turbidemeter and expressed in nephelornetric turbidity units or NTU