9 Feb 2026
In today’s industrial baking landscape, the term 'clean label' has evolved from a buzzword into a real challenge for large-scale production and reformulation. It’s no longer just about removing E-numbers - it’s about delivering solutions that preserve (or even enhance) texture, shelf life, and operational efficiency, all while meeting growing consumer demand for transparent and clean food labels.
At Puratos, we understand that for R&D teams, production managers, and industrial product developers, switching to clean label ingredients is not as simple as swapping out additives, especially in frozen dough and soft bakery applications. It's a multifaceted challenge that impacts everything from the process to shelf life.2
In this article, we’ll dive into what clean label really means today, explore the science and strategy behind reformulation, and show how Puratos is uniquely positioned to support your business at every stage of your clean label journey.³
From buzzword to bakery benchmark: what’s driving the shift?
For industrial bakers, the shift toward clean label is driven by changing consumer expectations around transparency, simplicity, and health. Shoppers today are more ingredient-aware and actively read labels: according to Taste Tomorrow, eight out of ten now say they read ingredient labels more closely.¹ This growing demand for trust and clarity is directly shaping product development at scale.
But, when is it considered 'Clean Label' - and how clean is clean enough? There is no legal definition of clean label in the food industry, which means every customer interprets it slightly differently.²
Even among industry professionals, the meaning of “clean label” varies: is it about removing E-numbers? Listing only recognizable ingredient names? Or reducing ingredients altogether? In reality, the clean labelling journey is shaped by a hierarchy of needs. Most industrial customers start with removing E-numbers, followed by replacing them with clearer, more ingredients, and ideally, shortening the ingredient list altogether.²
And while terms like “natural” and “organic” remain confusing (and inconsistently regulated), the demand for clean label food products with greater ingredient transparency is clear.¹ This is especially true in core bakery segments like bread, buns, and sweet goods - categories where ingredient lists have historically been long and filled with unfamiliar names.¹
*E numbers, short for Europe numbers, are codes for substances used as food additives, including those found naturally in many foods, such as vitamin C, for use within the European Union (EU) and European Free Trade Association (EFTA).
For more context, explore what drives consumers to clean-label foods.
Reformulating for Clean(er) Label: where the real work begins
Adopting clean label solutions in the bakery industry goes far beyond removing additives from an ingredient list. It’s rather a strategic shift – one that reqires balancing technical performance, sensory quality, and large-scale production feasibility. And despite common misconceptions, clean label does not mean compromising on quality, or sacrificing rich, satisfying taste.
Performance misconceptions: myth vs. reality
A common myth is that removing emulsifiers or preservatives will inevitably degrade product quality, and cause products to spoil more quickly.5 In reality, advances in bakery enzymes, bakery emulsifiers, and ingredient technologies have made it possible to match (and even enhance) the softness, shelf life, and structure of industrial baked goods.²
In fact, in trials conducted at various bakery producers, clean(er) label recipes often showed equal or improved results in terms of crumb texture, volume, and freshness over time.3
In most cases, texture is actually impacted in a positive way, and when we run Sensobus testing, consumers often prefer our clean label alternatives over the standard references.
Evelien Agache - Business Unit Director Bakery Improvers & Mixes at Puratos
Cost considerations: not always a trade-off
Switching to clean label ingredients may often be perceived as more expensive. However, this isn’t always the case. Many of our solutions require lower dosages, often reducing raw material costs.4 Additionally, shorter ingredient lists and more efficient ingredients (like fermented flour which doesn’t require drying) can streamline production and reduce processing costs.4
Key reformulation challenges
There are some technical challenges that industrial bakers face when transitioning to clean label food products:
1. Flour variability and enzymatic response
Not all flour behaves the same. Enzymes, a cornerstone of clean label formulations, can react differently depending on the flour’s composition. This makes precise flour analysis essential for clean label reformulation.3
2. The complexity of frozen dough
Frozen applications or soft baked goods, remain challenging due to high levels of usual ingredients, conventional ingredients that are difficult to remove. Clean label alternatives must maintain dough elasticity and structure across long frozen storage and thaw cycles. Certain types of equipment or industrial lines may also be very demanding or stressful for frozen dough performance. 3
3. Shelf life, softness, and scalability
Extending softness at industrial scale, without the use of ingredients like emulsifiers, requires highly targeted formulation work. It’s not just about the ingredients themselves, but about how they interact in the given baked goods, and in the given process conditions.3
Enzymes, fermentation, and the science behind it all
At the heart of clean label reformulation is a new generation of ingredients that replace conventional additives without compromising on product quality. These solutions are not only label-friendly, but also highly efficient, offering functionality while maintaining or even enhancing performance.
Contact your local sales representative to learn more about solutions that are right for your business.
Enzymes as functional replacements
Enzymes are naturally occurring proteins that catalyze biochemical reactions in dough.6 In clean label solutions, they replace additives traditionally used to improve dough strength, crumb softness, and shelf life. They are considered processing aids, meaning they don’t need to be declared on the label in many regions7, making them a cornerstone of clean label food products.
Enzymes are already a foundational part of most bakery formulations, not just clean label ones. But when we go clean label, it becomes even more important to combine the right enzymes from our toolbox to precisely target the desired texture and functionality. That said, “there are still certain applications where a fully clean label approach isn’t yet feasible, and some additives remain necessary.³
Evelien Agache
Here are some of the most commonly replaced ingredients in clean label bakery formulation:
- Monoglycerides (E471) → replaced by Intens Soft & Fine, a patented enzyme-based improver (patent: WO2018150021A1) that delivers initial and long-lasting softness, improved crumb structure, and a clean(er) label.4
- Ascorbic acid (E300 or Vitamin C) → replaced by acerola extract (from Brazilian berries).³
- DATEM (E472e)8 → replace by enzymatic technologies, designed according to the final application and recipe
- Calcium propionate (E282)9 → replaced by ingredients like fermented flours.³
Fermented flour: liquid vs. powder formats
Fermented flour is an effective way to replace chemical preservatives. Puratos offers both powder and liquid formats, each with distinct benefits:
- Liquid fermented flour: More cost-efficient (no drying cost), easier dosing in automated industrial systems, and ideal for large-scale production environments.³
- Powder format: Offers shelf stability and formulation flexibility, especially in environments without liquid handling systems.³
Sourdough + fermented flour combo for taste & functionality
For added depth of flavor and enhanced performance, Puratos developed Intens Molderator Sense, a unique combination of fermented flour and sourdough. This pairing not only improves shelf life and microbial stability but is also ompatible with all packaged bakery formats. It supports clean-label declarations while maintains softness, resilience, and taste.
“The sourdough makes the fermented flour more efficient, while contributing a pleasant taste profile in the final product,” explains Evelien Agache.³
What industrial bakers can expect
Reformulating with clean label solutions is not a compromise, it’s a performance upgrade. At Puratos, our work with enzymes, fermentation, and innovative production techniques has proven that clean label formulations can match or even exceed traditional recipes across performance metrics.
Improved texture and softness
Your consumers might wonder “what impact does clean label have on self life and texture?” Sensorial analysis consistently shows that clean label food products can deliver a soft, appealing texture throughout shelf life.³ In internal testing using Temporal Dominance of Sensations, consumers often report improved softness, finer crumb structure, and enhanced eating experience (e.g. increased melting sensation), when tasting clean label alternatives like Intens Soft & Fine. This improver mimics the function of monoglycerides.³
Maintained or extended shelf life
Some might be concerned that our clean food label solutions reduce shelf life. Our data says otherwise. Using ingredients like fermented flour (e.g. Intens Molderator) and enzymes tailored to product type and process conditions, we’ve helped customers maintain (and sometimes even extend) the freshness of their products. Our clean label shelf-life bakery tests show strong potential for industrial scalability without sacrificing performance.
Consumer preference: Sensobus validation
Clean label products don't just perform well in the lab, they succeed on the shelves. As previously mentioned, according to Sensobus testing conducted across multiple countries, consumers frequently prefer our clean(er) label versions over standard references.³ These mobile sensory labs validate formulations in real-world retail environments, providing a unique blend of consumer insight and scientific credibility.
Industrial scalability and efficiency
Clean label reformulation often raises concerns about cost, process changes, and consistency. But Puratos's integrated support model, including Mixolab and industrial pilot lines, ensures that industrial bakery reformulation stays efficient and scalable. In fact, many of our clean label solutions are even more cost-effective.
What is the Mixolab?
The Mixolab, developed by Chopin Technologies, is an advanced analytical instrument that evaluates the behavior of flour dough during mixing, heating, and cooling. By kneading a flour-water mixture while gradually increasing and then decreasing the temperature, the device measures torque in real time. This generates a curve with five key points (C1–C5), providing insights into dough properties such as water absorption, protein quality, starch gelatinization, and enzyme activity.
Why use Mixolab?
- Customer assessment: Understand flour performance for specific applications.
- Quality control: Ensure consistency and compliance with standards.
- Product development: Select the right flour or improver for optimal results.
Why our experts lead the way, today and tomorrow
From innovation in enzyme technology to production testing, our expertise ensures you don’t just meet clean(er) label standards, you exceed them.
In-house enzyme innovation
Unlike many suppliers, Puratos produces its own enzymes. This unique advantage gives us full control over performance, traceability, and continuous improvement. It also enables us to react faster to industry needs, delivering enzyme solutions tailord to specific texture, shelf life, and challenges in clean(er) label formulations.
Industrial pilot testing, before you go to market
With dedicated industrial pilot lines at our Belgian HQ, in the US, and other hubs, we test our clean(er) label solutions under real-world production conditions long before they reach your bakery. These facilities mimic large-scale lines, helping ensure seamless rollout and consistent performance, no matter your process.
Seamless equipment integration
We work closely with equipment manufacturers to ensure our clean label solutions align with the needs of modern industrial bakeries. Our ingredients are designed to run efficiently on a wide range of production lines.
Flour expertise with local precision
Formulation success starts with understanding flour. Our teams use Mixolab and flour analysis tools across markets to tailor clean label solutions to your exact needs, accounting for local variability, batch-to-batch differences, and evolving quality specs.
Custom solutions
Looking to go further? We offer bespoke clean label solutions that support regenerative wheat sourcing, fermented flours without wheat, and natural fermentation adapted to your product category and region.3
We continue to invest in next generation clean label innovation, including:
- New enzyme technologies to replace traditional additives
- Natural and ethical sourcing to meet evolving consumer expectations
- Regenerative agriculture and local alternative grains to support sustainability and clean(er) kabel goals
Ready to take the next step?
Curious how Clean(er) Label solutions could work for your products? Get in touch with our team to explore practical, tested solutions built for industrial scale.
REFERENCES
- What drives consumers to clean-label foods? – Taste Tomorrow
- Clean(er) Label 101: what is it and why it matters – Puratos
- Internal R&D interview – Puratos
- Answer the clean label demand with Intens Soft & Fine – Puratos
- Preservatives – Keeping our foods safe & fresh – Center for Research on Ingredient Safety
- What is an enzyme? – Puratos
- Lack of mandatory labelling of technical enzymes in food processing – European Parliament
- What is DATEM (E472e) in Bread? Made of, Uses, Safety, Side effects – Food Additives
- Approved additives and E numbers – Food Standards Agency
