© 2021 MJH Life Science and Nutrition Outlook. all rights reserved.

© 2021 MJH Life Sciences™ and Nutrition Outlook. all rights reserved.

Today's sweetener suppliers and manufacturers have developed many creative solutions to reduce the sugar content of clean labels. Most of this work involves finding the right combination of high-intensity sweeteners and bulking agents to replicate the flavor and texture we get with sucrose.

Everyone likes sugar. Its flavor and performance determine our expectations for baked goods, sweets and beverages. However, excessive intake of sugar has brought health problems such as obesity and metabolic diseases to our society. This is the reason why today's consumers have drastically reduced their sugar intake. According to a proprietary consumer study conducted by ingredient supplier Kerry (Beloit, WI) in 2018, 46% of consumers strongly wanted to reduce sugar intake, and 71% of consumers read the sugar content on the ingredient label.

In fact, according to the US Department of Agriculture, the daily consumption of sweeteners such as refined sugar and high-fructose corn syrup fell by 17% between 2000 and 2016. According to the Consumer Goods Forum 1, in 2017, 68% of companies reported reducing sugar, an increase of 12% from 2016. Kerry reports that as a way to manage sugar consumption, 28% of survey respondents choose to reduce sugar-sugar foods and beverages, and 19% are turning to alternative sweeteners.

This change also affected the company's product claims. For example, data shows that in 2018, the number of product claims of “no added sugar” increased by 2.6% compared to the previous year, while the number of “low/no/reduced sugar” claims in 2017 increased by 45% compared to 2012. From Mintel2. The Nielsen data cited in the Kerry report shows that in 2018, the number of claims of "no artificial sweeteners" also increased by 4.4% over the previous year, indicating that consumers not only want less sugar, but also want labels. Clean and natural alternatives.

If a product requires less sugar, but the sweetness remains the same, then natural high-intensity sweeteners such as stevia can solve the sweetness problem; however, it is not easy to replicate the function of sugar.

"Emerging sweeteners are always compared and evaluated based on [sugar] performance," said Dr. Akshay Kumar Anugu, Global Sweetener Development Assistant at Ingredion (Westchester, Illinois).

Anugu explained that replacing sugar with high-potency sweeteners is challenging for many reasons. For example, the difference in the ability of sweeteners to bind to T1R2/T1R3 receptors (human sweet receptors) can determine different flavor delivery and mouthfeel properties. , Depends on the sweetener.

Anugu said: "Sucrose not only provides sweetness, but also imparts functional properties such as swelling/mouthfeel. In baked goods, sucrose increases protein denaturation and starch gelatinization temperature, and acts as a softener by delaying and limiting the formation of gluten. It also helps increase volume. In ice cream, sucrose affects the freezing point and controls the formation of ice crystals. In bars, it controls hardness and maintains microbial and physical stability during the shelf life."

In addition, when you ask consumers, not everyone thinks that sugar is a bad word. In fact, when surveying consumers’ opinions, Kerry found that 59% of people prefer sugar, while 22% prefer stevia. Therefore, even though consumers may want to limit sugar intake, they think it is a sweetener because it is a familiar ingredient.

The challenge for suppliers and manufacturers now is to design products that provide consumers with what they want in terms of reducing sugar and flavor while using alternative ingredients. They hope that consumers will begin to recognize products such as stevia and choose them because they like the taste.

In view of these challenges, today's sweetener suppliers and manufacturers have developed many creative solutions for reducing sugar on clean labels. Most of this work involves finding the right combination of high-intensity sweeteners and bulking agents to replicate the flavor and texture we get with sucrose.

The most common natural sweetener on the market today is Stevia rebaudiana-more specifically, Rebaudioside A (Reb A).

Stevia is much sweeter than sugar, so it is very effective in reducing sugar for cleaning labels, especially in beverage applications. "In the early days, stevia was first adopted by manufacturers. These product categories were at the forefront of major sugar-reducing beverages, including juices, flavored waters and sodas," explained Andy Ohmes, global director of high-intensity sweeteners, Cargill (Minnesota, Minnesota) Apolis). "Stevia leaf extract has become so popular in these categories that nearly a quarter of the world's beverages now contain stevia sweeteners."

Beverages are an important sugar reduction target because carbonated soft drinks and fruit juices are notoriously high in sugar. In fact, in Kerry’s consumer survey, people believe that carbonated soft drinks have the highest sugar content. This means that consumers will either switch to unsweetened beverages or look for alternatives, which they hope will be comparable to the real ones.

Meeting this expectation poses some challenges for Stevia. Using Reb A, the most prominent steviol glycoside of stevioside alone, does not help formulators to completely eliminate sugar because it has a bitter aftertaste and affects sensory characteristics such as taste.

At lower levels of sugar reduction, Reb A is not that big of a problem. "Formulators can use Reb A in several beverage applications to reduce sugar content by 30%-50% without compromising taste," Anugu said. "However, Reb A can bring undesirable sensory characteristics, especially over 50% sugar substitutes, which limits its application."

For this reason, the stevia industry promotes the commercialization of other minor steviol glycosides (such as Reb M and Reb D), avoiding some of the unpleasant taste and sensory characteristics of Reb A, which may have a huge impact on the reduction of sugar. In most cases, these minor glycosides are used in combination with Reb A or other steviol glycosides when aiming to reduce the sugar content of products today.

For example, Cargill's ViaTech stevia sweetener product portfolio can reduce sugar content by as much as 70%, based on the company's ability to determine the ideal glycoside ratio. “Part of what distinguishes the ViaTech product portfolio from other stevia sweeteners is Cargill’s proprietary taste prediction model, which can accurately predict which steviol glycoside combination provides the best taste and sweetness,” explains Ohmes .

"We found that using a very small amount of Reb D and Reb M as sweetness modifiers together with [Reb A sweetener] RA99 or RA98 can mask odors very, very well, while maintaining high intensity," explained President Thom King Said CEO and CEO of Icon Foods (Portland, Oregon). He added that even Reb D and Reb M are not without their own peculiar smell, which makes combining steviol glycosides ideal.

It is also more cost-effective to combine multiple different steviol glycosides for many reasons. Reb M and Reb D are called minor steviol glycosides because of their lower concentration in the stevia plant and require more work and starting materials to extract the usable amount. This means higher prices, but as many companies are now pointing out, continuous technological advancements have made the secondary steviol glycosides more scalable.

Cargill's newest stevia sweetener EverSweet is a trace amount of steviol glycoside sweetener containing Reb M and Reb D produced by fermentation without the need for typical leaf extraction.

Another company, PureCircle (Chicago, Illinois), has begun to selectively cultivate stevia plants so that they have higher Reb M and Reb D content compared to traditional stevia plants. "In terms of cost-effectiveness, PureCircle's recent advancements have allowed us to significantly increase the production of advanced stevia sweeteners such as Reb M," said Maga Malsagov, CEO of PureCircle. "This means that we can provide customers with the amount of stevia sweetener needed to expand the use of stevia ingredients. Depending on the quantity purchased and the terms of purchase, companies that purchase Reb M from PureCircle will find that they use it to make beverages or The cost of sweetening food is comparable to the cost of using sugar to achieve the same level of sweetness.” Malsagov said this opens up greater possibilities for stevia in other applications, such as baked goods, ice cream, sauces and other growth categories.

Stevia has a high reputation and positive connotation among consumers seeking low blood sugar and clean label products. However, in addition to the unpleasant aftertaste, stevia also has significant limitations, such as taste and swelling limitations.

Regarding stevia, Anuga said: "The sensory challenges include producing a sweetness response similar to sucrose (time intensity and time), eliminating non-sucrose flavors (bitter, astringent, licorice, etc.), and increasing aftertaste. Processing challenges include solubility, Dispersibility, foamability, stability (processing/storage), shelf life, etc."

For these reasons, "So far, the use of stevia in the bakery category has been more limited," explains Wade Schmelzer, Cargill's chief food scientist. “For example, cakes and biscuits are indulgent products that consumers often see as rewards for other dietary choices. Reducing sugar in these types of applications is more complicated because sugar is highly functional and not only affects taste , It also affects texture, structure and color."

Schmelzer said that to replicate the texture of full sugar bakery products, a combination of fillers, such as erythritol and fiber, "may be used in combination with starch and hydrocolloids." Large-volume sweeteners, such as the polyol erythritol and the rare sugar psicose, can impart ideal functional properties that stevia does not possess.

"Puffed sweeteners can produce a viscosity and mouthfeel that is very similar to sugar," Jin explained. Jin said that the most popular combination is stevia and erythritol, and even stevioside, momordica grosvenori and erythritol.

Ravi Nana, Cargill Polyol Technical Services Manager, said that erythritol provides many cross-platform functions. In beverages, erythritol provides mouthfeel, which decreases when sugar is reduced. In frozen dairy products, it can lower the freezing point, in baking applications, it helps increase bulk and enhance texture.

"For example, in ice cream, sugar can lower the freezing point and prevent the formation of large ice crystals, thereby creating the smooth and silky texture expected of high-quality ice cream," Nana said. "Because of its small molecular size (one third of sugar), erythritol can fill this gap and provide three times the freezing point reduction factor. The higher impact on freezing point reduction helps soften low-sugar ice cream and create consumers The scoopable texture that you desire."

King said that the combination of erythritol, stevia and Luo Han Guo is ideal for sweet bars and mixed powdered beverages, especially in 100 mesh or fine powder form, which can be immediately dispersed into solutions or formulations.

King also pointed out the benefits of allulose. "The combination of allulose and stevia provides a perfect plug-and-play sweetness system for baked goods. Stevia does not participate in the Maillard reaction, nor does it brown or activate fermentation. Allulose, because it is a kind of Sugar is also involved in Maillard, so it works very well. The extra sweetness of stevia makes it a very, very viable substitute for sugar in sweet baked goods and desserts."

Another advantage of psicose is the recent draft guidance issued by the FDA, which states that psicose can be excluded from the added sugar statement on the nutrition facts label.

Using fibers from natural sources (such as inulin in chicory root fibers) has become another way to reduce sugar while providing important textural properties, especially when combined with other sweeteners.

"We found that inulin is very useful in baked goods, can be used as a fat simulator, and has the added benefit of fiber label claims," ​​Jin said. "It goes well with stevia. It participates in Maillard, albeit very slightly, because by definition, inulin is classified as fructan, which is a polymer with short-chain fructose molecules called low Fructose. We found that the combination of allulose, stevia and Luo Han Guo is more effective in baked goods."

Cargill touted the use of its Oliggo-Fiber inulin. "Although we can usually replace the sweetness of sugar with high-intensity sweeteners such as stevia, it cannot compensate for the loss of volume or function. For these properties, we usually choose Zerose erythritol, a natural, zero-calorie Incremental sweeteners and natural source Oliggo-Fiber chicory root fiber," said Tim Christensen, senior food technology expert in Cargill's Baking Applications R&D Department. "In general, these ingredients help to provide the taste that consumers expect. In many baking applications, the combination of stevia, erythritol and chicory root fiber can successfully replace the function of sugar, control the cost of use, and meet consumption The preference of the consumer.” Christensen said that this combination (stevia, erythritol and chicory) can reduce the sugar in biscuits by 15%-20%, and the sugar in cakes and muffins by 20%-50%, but it’s not The overall product impact is limited.

The use of inulin fiber also allows for additional statements in the main growth categories. "[Chicory root fiber is] a product that can be used in certain organic formulas, depending on the content. It is gluten-free. We are now seeing that with the ketogenic and paleontological trends, the addition of fiber has also become popular," Product line manager Taylor Halstead explained; specialty carbohydrates; starch, sweetener and thickener business; Cargill. "It's really just compatible with some label claims that customers want to start."

There is no one-size-fits-all solution for reducing sugar. Optimizing flavor and texture means customizing a combination of different sweeteners for a specific product, because each product has its own challenges. It is clear that consumers want low-sugar options, and these options are now more likely than ever to be offered.