Edible Gelatin
Edible gelatin is a protein obtained by the partial hydrolysis of collagen extracted from animal skin, hide and bone, most commonly porcine skin, bovine hide and bovine bone, and increasingly fish skin. It is not a single defined molecule but a mixture of polypeptide chains and fragments derived from the collagen triple helix.
Its distinguishing property is thermoreversible gelation. Dissolved in hot water, the chains are random coils; on cooling below roughly 35 degrees Celsius they partially re-form triple helical junction zones that lock a three dimensional network around the water, and on rewarming those junctions melt again. Because the melting point sits just below body temperature, gelatin gels release their flavour and dissolve in the mouth in a way no polysaccharide gel reproduces, which is why it has never been fully displaced in confectionery and dessert use. It is also surface active, so it foams, stabilises emulsions and binds at interfaces.
Edible gelatin takes the form of a pale yellow to almost colourless granule, powder or sheet, essentially odourless and bland. It swells in cold water without dissolving, then dissolves above about 40 degrees Celsius. It is amphoteric, and gel strength falls at pH values far from neutral and under prolonged heating, which progressively cleaves the chains.
We source bulk Edible Gelatin from top China manufacturers for our partners, working with several of them. The manufacturers are in Shandong and Jilin. A smaller requirement can ship in a combined container with other ingredients.
Please send the grade you need, the volume and your destination port, and we will come back with a solution and a price.
or call +86-21-6858 0751
- Function
- Thickener / Hydrocolloid
Specifications
| Item | Specification |
|---|---|
| Appearance | Pale yellow granules or powder, free of foreign matter |
| Odour and Taste | Bland, free of foreign odour |
| Bloom Strength | 220 to 240 g |
| Viscosity, 6.67% at 60 degrees Celsius | 3.5 to 4.5 mPa s |
| Protein, dry basis | Not less than 87.0% |
| Moisture | Not more than 12.0% |
| Ash | Not more than 2.0% |
| pH, 1% solution | 4.5 to 6.5 |
| Transmittance at 620 nm | Not less than 85% |
| Sulphur Dioxide | Not more than 50 mg/kg |
| Hydrogen Peroxide Residue | Not more than 10 mg/kg |
| Chromium | Not more than 10 mg/kg |
| Lead | Not more than 1.5 mg/kg |
| Arsenic | Not more than 1.0 mg/kg |
| Total Plate Count | Not more than 1,000 CFU/g |
| E. coli | Absent in 1 g |
| Salmonella | Absent in 25 g |
Common Markets Grades
Gelatin is traded first by manufacturing route. Type A is produced by acid conditioning, mainly from porcine skin, and has an isoelectric point around pH 7 to 9. Type B is produced by prolonged alkaline liming, mainly from bovine hide and bone, and has an isoelectric point around pH 4.7 to 5.4. The two behave differently in charged systems such as acidified dairy, so they are not interchangeable.
Within each type the primary specification is Bloom, the gel strength measured on a standard 6.67 percent gel, traded from about 80 Bloom for low set applications up to 300 Bloom for firm confectionery gels. Viscosity, measured on a hot solution, is specified alongside Bloom because it controls depositing and film behaviour independently of set strength. Mesh is specified to control dissolution rate, with coarse granules used where a slow controlled hydration is wanted and fine powder where speed matters. Halal and kosher certified grades, fish gelatin for religious and dietary restriction, and pharmaceutical grades for hard and soft capsules are separate commercial streams. Hydrolysed gelatin, sold as collagen peptide, has no gel strength at all and is a different product.
Applications
- Gummy sweets, wine gums and marshmallow, where the melt-in-mouth gel and the chew are the defining texture
- Table jellies and chilled desserts, giving a clear gel that melts at body temperature
- Aerated confectionery and mousses, stabilising the foam as the whipped structure sets
- Yoghurt and fermented dairy, controlling body and preventing whey separation
- Hard and soft pharmaceutical capsule shells and tablet coatings
- Meat products including aspic, canned hams and pâté, binding the released cook juices into a sliceable gel
- Reduced fat spreads and dairy analogues, giving a fat-like body from a protein network
- Fining agent in wine, beer and fruit juice, flocculating tannins and haze-forming particles
- Micro-encapsulation of flavours and vitamins as a coacervation wall material
- Photographic and technical film coatings in non-food grades made on the same process
Brands Using Edible Gelatin
Widely-distributed consumer products that list Edible Gelatin on the ingredient label.
- Vital ProteinsBeef Gelatin Powder, Unflavored ↗Single-ingredient cooking gelatin made from bovine hide, sold as a gelling powder for recipes.Label verified 2026-08-31
- Great Lakes WellnessGrass-Fed Beef Gelatin Powder ↗Unflavored single-ingredient powder supplying 12 g of bovine gelatin per serving.Label verified 2026-08-31
- Jell-OStrawberry Gelatin Dessert Mix ↗Dessert mix whose ingredient list names gelatin second, after sugar, as the setting agent.Label verified 2026-08-31
Brand names, product names and logos are the property of their owners. They appear here as published evidence that the ingredient is used, taken from the brand's own label or website. Their appearance is not an endorsement, and it does not mean the brand buys from us or from any manufacturer listed on this site.
China Manufacturers of Edible Gelatin
Top Edible Gelatin manufacturers in China.
Great Gelatin3 ingredients in the directory- Jilin Province Tianzheng Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd.4 ingredients in the directory
Shandong Hengxin Biological Technology Co., Ltd.4 ingredients in the directory
Shandong Jellice Biot Echnology Co., Ltd.2 ingredients in the directory
Shandong Jiruite Gelatin Co., Ltd.4 ingredients in the directory- Weihai Yinhe Biological Technology Co., Ltd.2 ingredients in the directory
Company names and logos are the property of the manufacturers themselves. They are listed here because our own directory records them as producing this ingredient. A listing is not an endorsement by them, and we do not represent them or speak on their behalf.
Regulatory Status
Gelatin is treated as a food ingredient rather than as a food additive in both the United States and the European Union, so it carries no E number and is declared simply as gelatin.
In the United States it is an established food ingredient used under the general food framework, and pharmaceutical use is governed by the United States Pharmacopeia monograph. In the European Union gelatin intended for human consumption is regulated as a product of animal origin under the hygiene rules for food of animal origin, which set requirements for the raw materials that may be used, for approved establishments and for the treatment applied. Additional controls apply to bovine raw material under the transmissible spongiform encephalopathy rules, which restrict the tissues that may be used and require specified risk material to be excluded. The European Pharmacopoeia carries a monograph for gelatin, with a separate one for pharmaceutical grade. Codex does not treat gelatin as an additive but it is covered by the general principles of food hygiene. Gelatin is not one of the declarable allergens, although species of origin must be stated for religious and dietary reasons and is normally certified.
Manufacturing Process
Raw material is sorted and washed, then conditioned to convert insoluble collagen into an extractable form. In the acid route the hide splits or pig skin are held in dilute mineral acid for hours to a day, which swells the collagen and cleaves some cross-links. In the alkaline route the bovine stock is limed in a saturated calcium hydroxide suspension for weeks, which is slower but breaks down the mature cross-links found in older animal collagen. Bone stock is demineralised first in dilute hydrochloric acid to strip calcium phosphate, leaving the protein matrix known as ossein, which is then limed.
The conditioned stock is washed extensively and neutralised, then extracted with hot water in a series of batches at progressively higher temperature, typically starting near 55 degrees Celsius and ending close to boiling. Early extracts give the highest Bloom and successive extracts fall away, so they are collected separately and blended later to hit the ordered specification. The dilute extract is filtered, deionised on ion exchange resins, concentrated by evaporation and membrane filtration, sterilised by a short high temperature hold, and chilled to a gel. The gel is extruded into noodles or ribbons and dried in filtered conditioned air on a belt dryer, then ground, sieved and blended to the target Bloom, viscosity and particle size.
