Calcium citrate malate for calcium fortification and food supplements: A narrative review from a formulation perspective

Abstract

Different calcium salts often present a trade-off between high calcium content, bioavailability, solubility, and sensory properties, which limits their application. The settling of calcium is a significant problem in plant beverages; the calcium content in an unshaken beverage is often significantly lower than the labelled amount. Calcium citrate malate is a metastable calcium salt that was authorised for use in food in the EU in 2009. The calcium content of calcium citrate malate (24%) is significantly higher than that of other highly soluble calcium salts, such as calcium lactate (13%) or calcium gluconate (9%). It provides sufficient aqueous solubility for many beverage fortification and effervescent food supplement applications, enabling the dissolution of 500 mg of elemental calcium (contained in 2.1 g of calcium citrate malate) in 200 mL of water. To address the limited availability and high cost of commercial calcium citrate malate (CCM), a formulation for preparing a dry precursor that forms CCM upon reaction with water is provided.