The Market Reality
Why Reformulation Is No Longer Optional
Four converging pressures are pushing food manufacturers to act now.
Retailer No-Lists
Major retailers are restricting artificial preservatives and synthetic additives.
Consumer Demand
Clean label expectations continue growing across meat, poultry, prepared foods, sauces, dips, and dressings.
Regulatory Direction
Regulatory scrutiny around artificial ingredients continues increasing nationwide.
Performance Matters
Removing synthetic preservatives and phosphates cannot compromise food safety, shelf-life, yield, or flavor.
Natural Ingredient Systems
Three Validated Pathways to a Cleaner Label
Each system is validated and designed to replace conventional ingredients without compromising food safety, shelf-life, yield, or flavor.
Naturally-derived vinegar-based systems that inhibit Listeria monocytogenes and spoilage organisms in meat, poultry, prepared foods, sauces, dips, and dressings. Replaces conventional lactate/diacetate, sorbate and benzoate systems.
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Natural antioxidant systems designed to replace BHA, BHT, and EDTA while supporting flavor stability, oxidative protection, and cleaner ingredient declarations in meat, poultry, and dressings.
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Naturally-derived lemon-based phosphate alternatives that help processors replace phosphates while maintaining yield, texture, and eating quality in meat and poultry.
View Product Details →Find Your Reformulation Pathway
Whether you're replacing lactates, sorbates, benzoates, synthetic antioxidants, or phosphates, WTI has a validated natural system designed for your application.
| Market Ask | Replaces | WTI Ingredient | Applications | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reduce synthetic mold & yeast inhibitors | Propylparaben, sorbate, benzoate | NatureIn® & DV® | Sauces, dips, dressings, prepared foods, marinades, low-pH systems | |
| Replace synthetic preservation in dry systems | Propylparaben, sorbate, benzoate, lactate/diacetate | DV® | Dry blends, RTE meats, poultry, bakery, snacks, prepared foods | |
| Improve pathogen & spoilage control; cleaner label | Lactate/diacetate & synthetic organic acid systems | NatureIn® & DV® | RTE meats, poultry, prepared foods requiring pathogen & lactic acid bacteria inhibition | |
| Reduce synthetic antioxidants | BHT / BHA / EDTA | Evolution® | Meat, poultry, pet food, prepared foods, dry blends, seasoning systems, savory applications | |
| Replace phosphates; maintain yield & texture | Sodium & potassium phosphates | TenderIn® | Injected, tumbled, marinated, brine-based, fully cooked proteins |
* Usage rates are typical starting ranges. Validate through application testing, shelf-life studies, pathogen challenge work, and sensory evaluation as applicable.
The WTI Process
What Working With WTI Actually Looks Like
Reformulation feels risky when you have a working formula. We make it structured, validated, and faster than you'd expect.
Share your product category, current preservation system, and what matters most, whether that's Listeria control, shelf-life, yield, texture, flavor, or clean label goals.
WTI recommends systems aligned with your formulation, processing, and performance requirements.
Food scientists, application expertise, and technical data help reduce uncertainty during reformulation.
Pilot testing and formulation support accelerate commercialization. Shelf-life validation, pathogen challenge testing, and sensory evaluation confirm performance before commercial launch.
From ingredient development and batch production to application support and validation testing, WTI's vertically integrated operation is located in Jefferson, Georgia.
Performance Data
Challenge-Study Validated Results
Real application data from WTI's food safety lab, tested against the same conditions your product faces.
Inhibit Listeria for up to 3x Longer With DV®
Challenge: Control Listeria monocytogenes outgrowth and extend shelf-life in RTE sliced thick cut chicken under modified atmosphere packaging conditions.
DV®, WTI's patented dry vinegar-based antimicrobial, inhibited Listeria monocytogenes for up to 120 days in RTE sliced thick cut chicken under MAP conditions — more than three times longer than the untreated control, which exceeded safe thresholds in under 33 days.
Performance is application-specific. WTI food scientists can evaluate DV® for your product and processing conditions.
Clean Label Phosphate Removal Without the Tradeoffs
Challenge: Remove phosphates from RTE deli turkey breast while maintaining cook yield, texture, and sensory quality without changing the production process. TenderIn® 281 was evaluated as a direct swap for a conventional STPP system at the same 0.3% usage, alongside an untreated control.
TenderIn® 281, WTI's lemon-based phosphate alternative, delivered meaningful improvements in cook yield and texture versus untreated control, with cook yield coming within 5 points of conventional STPP performance.
Adjustments to usage rates and/or process changes can close the yield gap further. WTI food scientists can optimize for your specific application and processing conditions.
Explore the complete performance data including detailed challenge-study charts for deli meat applications.
Download PDF →Clean Label Reformulation: Common Questions
Answers to common clean label reformulation questions.
Talk to a Technical Specialist
Tell us your application and current preservation system. A member of WTI's technical team will identify the right natural pathway for your specific product.
What Happens Next