ABSTRACT
Curdlan or Polysaccharide 13140 is not permitted for food use in the US although it is permitted in Japan and has been employed in commercial food products. Animal feeding studies have been made with curdlan and showed it to be a harmless, innocuous material. Nutrition studies on curdlan showed that it has no caloric value and thus is useful as an ingredient of low caloric food. Polysaccharide 13140 or curdlan is a tasteless, odorless, white powder which swells upon the addition of water. In pasta products such as noodles, curdlan was reported to give improved body and texture (elasticity) as well as increased cooking weight and smaller loss of soluble solids. Curdlan has good film-forming properties and has been used to prepare films and fibers which have the characteristics of being edible, insoluble in water, biodegradable, and impermeable to oxygen.
