This blog is the second in the “1-2-Taste healthy food making” series on personalized nutrition, clean label nutrition and much more. In this second article, we delve into innovative strategies for reducing sugar in food applications, enabling you to create healthier products that meet consumer demands for taste and texture without compromising on quality.
Syrups provide significant bulking benefits compared to artificial sweeteners and serve as excellent alternatives for partial or total sugar reduction. IMAG’s Agave syrup is a natural sweetener with a low glycemic index, primarily composed of fructose. It offers sweetening power, helps control weight, and aids in blood glucose management. Highly functional, agave syrup provides taste, mouthfeel, texture, and sweetness without an aftertaste. Its high solubility makes it an excellent binding agent, and with a glycemic index of 17.1, it serves as an ideal substitute for sugar and honey.
Tapioca and corn syrups, such as FiberSMART, act as dietary fibres with added benefits. These sweeteners are a resistant dextrin with a low glycemic response, exceptional tolerability, and low water-binding capacity. They are about 20% as sweet as sugar and can be consumed up to 70 grams per day without adverse effects.
Erythritol is a low-calorie sweetener with a clean, sweet taste that is gaining popularity due to its ability to replace sugar in reduced sugar formulations. It provides approximately 65% of the sweetness of sucrose, does not cause tooth decay, and is non-toxic and non-carcinogenic when used in food.² PolySWEET Erythritol crystalline powder has a sweetness level of 60-70% of sucrose, high digestive tolerance, negligible effect on blood sugar, very low glycemic index, and high stability to heat, pH, and chemicals. This makes it suitable for a variety of food categories including beverages, bakery, frozen, confectionery, bars, dairy, and gluten-free baked goods.
Allulose is a low-glycemic, zero-calorie sweetener that mimics the sensory and functional properties of sugar with only 0.4 calories per gram. Because it provides 70% of the sweetness of sucrose, it is an excellent option for sugar reduction in a variety of applications. Allulose browns in baking, lowers the freezing point of frozen foods, and disperses well in batters and doughs. Anderson’s AllSWEET Allulose line takes advantage of these benefits, as it is recognized by the body as a simple sugar that is not metabolized and therefore does not affect blood sugar levels. For labeling purposes, it is simply referred to as allulose. While waiting for regulatory approval in Europe, many manufacturers are already experimenting with it in anticipation of the green light, and you should too.
By adopting these strategies, food manufacturers can successfully reduce sugar content while meeting the evolving needs of health-conscious consumers.
