From more efficient production of rare sugars tagatose and allulose (and intriguing new possibilities with D-allose), to ‘enhanced’ sugars, and a mystery disaccharide that behaves like sugar, but is metabolized very differently, check out part one of our IFT First highlights gallery. Best viewed on a laptop!
Bonumose – a Virginia-based startup with patented technology it claims could enable the mass market adoption of rare sugars from allulose and tagatose to D-allose – will start commercial production of tagatose at a new plant in Virginia, this fall, with allulose to follow. Read more HERE.
Tate & Lyle has been ramping up production of allulose syrup to meet growing demand, with additional capacity for crystalline allulose to come online next year, said Abigail Storms, global head of sweeteners: “Allulose has really opened up sugar reduction in categories such as ice cream, gummies, yogurts and dressings.”
While allulose comes with a premium price tag, said Storms, “The price we are selling it today is significantly below the price we were selling at two years ago, and our intention is to make it even more accessible to the mainstream as we expand.”
She added: “What consumers look at on the label in the US is calories, then sugar.”
Asked about keto trends, she said: “I think very few people adhere to a very strict keto diet. I think it's gone from the very hardcore days to being something that consumers dip in and out of, or are using as a way to make healthier choices and have less sugar in the household.”
When it comes to high intensity sweeteners, said Storms, “Monk fruit continues to be popular, especially in ice cream and beverages, and products targeted at children because it's very [label] friendly, although it’s generally used in combination with the stevia or allulose as it has a slightly melon type flavor profile.”
Stevia, meanwhile, continues to grow, said Storms: “On Reb M and D [produced through enzymatic bioconversion from stevia leaf extracts] we have additional capacity coming online now, and it’s also Non GMO Project verified.”
Sucralose is also doing well, she added: “We continue to see growth globally and we're the only non -Chinese manufacturer of sucralose in the world, which is important in terms of security of supply.”
Image credit: Gettyimages/Carl99
When it comes to sweeteners, the market has been pretty volatile lately, with some buyers stocking up amid concerns about pricing and availability, said Thom King, CEO at low and no calorie sweetener supplier Icon Foods: “There’s ridiculous volatility… we bought very long, so we're sitting on more erythritol than we've ever sat on before, so we’ve got right now, enough to take us probably into Q2 of 2023.”
When it comes to projects Icon is working on with customers, he said, “We’re seeing more projects in condiments, but most of the formulations that I've been working on lately have been in beverages. We’re seeing a lot of firms adding adaptogens and other functional ingredients, which can have bitter off notes that need to be addressed, so I like to use modulators. My go-to is thaumatin, which is very expensive, but works amazingly well in combination with Reb-M.”
Asked about trends, he said: “Zero sugar seems to be the call out of the day on product labels, but people are still using keto as a search term when they shop online. We’re also seeing a lot of interest in fibers, although I don't know if it's because people are using them to drive down net carbs or because [they proactively want to promote the] health benefits of fiber.”
More generally, he said, Icon Foods has benefited from having a diversified supply base. “If there’s a shortage at one manufacturer, we can go to others. So at times last year, Cargill didn't have any erythritol left, but we did.”
Brazzein, a sweet protein developed with R&D partner Conagen via microbial fermentation that is currently going through the GRAS process, will bring something new and exciting to the formulator’s toolbox, said Sweegen head of global innovation Dr Casey McCormick.
“Brazzein will not be used as a standalone sweetener, but it pairs very well, specifically with our Bestevia steviol glycosides. It has a late onset of sweetness and takes about two or three seconds to build in your mouth, and then it has a relatively long fade out, which is either a good or bad thing depending on the application.
“What’s interesting about brazzein is that it is the only natural non-nutritive sweetener that specifically targets the T1R3 receptor, which is associated with umami. So that's important not just for differentiating in terms of being able to stimulate a new sweet experience, but also bringing full flavor to products.”
From an applications perspective, he added, “Brazzein is extremely soluble and extremely resistant to acid and heat, so you can UHT it, and it’s going to be fine, so we see interesting opportunities in beverages, confectionery and dairy.”
Thaumatin, another sweet protein developed with partner Conagen, is also generating some excitement, said McCormick: “We do anticipate that our product will be more consistent and more cost accessible than the thaumatin (extracted from fruit) currently on the market.”
The latest trend in stevia formulation, meanwhile, is customized blends of rare steviol glycosides and flavor systems that are designed to build back mouthfeel lost when you eliminate sugar, said McCormick.
Apura Ingredients has recently expanded its sugar reduction platform after partnering with EPC Natural Products in Beijing, which specializes in natural taste and flavor modulators, said president Nancy Hughes. “Big companies are recognizing the value of reducing the amount of erythritol, aspartame, and sucralose they have to use by using a very small amount of these modulators.”
Asked about supply issues, she highlighted recent volatility in aspartame pricing and availability, a trend towards carrying more inventory to de-risk supply chains, and uneven supplies out of China given pandemic-related disruptions and increased regulations.
As for stevia, she said, there is still significant demand for products that are extracted directly from the leaf, with some also wary of Reb M produced via a bioconversion method involving enzymes, even if leaf extract is the starting material: “Some companies accept it as a natural plant extract and others push back and say no, it is modified.”
Ingredion is seeing continuing strong demand for allulose, said Nate Yates, global platform leader, sugar reduction. “We continue to see a very good future for allulose as it’s such a versatile ingredient, and we've seen good uptake in all of the Americas, not just not just the US, but it's still not approved in Europe or Canada.
“It's still rather expensive, but we do see new technologies and approaches that I believe will help lower cost, which are coming in the next three to five years.”
On stevia, he said, despite some growing pains, “Fermentation is going to unlock price substantially, although we certainly have people that prefer to be able to put leaf extract on a label [which you can’t do for a fermented product].”
As for supply chain issues, said Yates at Ingredion, “As you walk the floor and talk to people here, it's still the first topic as I think everybody's frustrated and exhausted. We’ve had to reset our level of expectation around lead times and what we might have to hold for inventories to accommodate the New World of the supply chain.”
He added: “There's just a lot of volatility right now and the foreign exchange is really outside of what we consider normal these days although ocean freight [rates] are starting to come back down now. If you look at energy in Europe, for example, it's been an enormous cost driver… we don't even know if we can keep plants open, because you just don't know if the supply of energy is going to be there.”
On availability, he said, “Some of the corn sweeteners in the US right now are really tight in supply.”
Israeli startup ReSugar - which has developed a sugar replacer now deployed in some Nestlé products that combines inulin, fructose, and natural flavors – is also working on a second product described as a "disaccharide that exists in nature" that ReSugar is aiming to produce via an enzymatic process using cane sugar as a starting material.
The final product - developed in conjunction with scientists from The Technion: Israel Institute of Technology - will have virtually no calories, and will not be metabolized in the same way as sucrose, claimed the firm.
“It’s a sugar, but it's metabolized differently than sugar and we know this because humans don’t have the enzyme to break it down [in the small intestine]," said CEO Niv Ben-Ami.
The next step will be a GRAS determination if the firm targets the US market.
Fellow Israeli startup B.T. Sweet was also showcasing a patent-pending sugar reduction platform at IFT First, with one variation combining inulin, monk fruit, and two undisclosed botanicals; and the other combining dextrin, monk fruit, and the same two botanicals (a masking agent and an antioxidant), said CEO Yishai Potack. Both are intended as drop-in replacements for sugar and come in granulated and powdered forms.
Israeli firm DouxMatok, meanwhile, is re-engineering sugar to taste sweeter, by using an inert mineral particle (silica) as a carrier for sugar molecules. The sucrose molecules surround and coat the particle to form structures that human taste receptors perceive to be sweeter than a comparable amount of sugar in free unassociated form – enabling sugar reductions of up to 50% in some applications, said SVP North America, Kelly Thompson.
While the firm's Incredo 'enhanced' sugar doesn’t work its magic in beverages or applications with high water activity (sugar is water soluble, so the above-described structure breaks down) it’s attractive to product developers because it tastes and performs (you can freeze it, heat it, bake it) just like regular sugar, claims the firm.
It can also be listed simply as ‘sugar’ on the ingredients list (the silica serves as an incidental additive in the US and does not have to be included on labels). When Incredo sugar is consumed, the sucrose is metabolized as normal and the silica (which is tasteless, odorless and calorie-free) passes through the body and is excreted.
DouxMatok – which has struck a deal with Canadian sugar refiner Rogers Sugar to manufacture commercial quantities of Incredo for North American food companies – has also struck a deal with Batory Foods to distribute its Incredo enhanced sugar in North America.
Enzyme specialist Codexis is working on multiple projects in the food space, and recently helped Tate & Lyle optimize its stevia (Tasteva Reb M) and allulose production process by improving yields, said director Michael Miller: “So with the stevia bioconversion process we’re talking about a customized cascade of enzymes, and that really that differentiates us from the major enzyme companies, who will typically sell one enzyme."
He added: “Our average time from inception of a project to get a small amount of enzyme in someone's hands is measured in weeks and months. The major enzyme companies don't work at that speed, and to my knowledge, none of them have enzyme cascades where it's a single process with multiple enzymes like this.”
