[Sweetners] Vol. 25 No. 2 Summer 2015

Sweet Success

By Judie Bizzozero, Senior Editor

In light of increasing consumer demand for less caloric, healthier and “natural” products featuring lower sugar content and non-GMO ingredients, formulators are seeking out versatile ingredients that not only are easy to integrate into food and beverages, but also deliver specific and reliable health benefits.

“‘Natural’ sweeteners are gaining favor among consumers due to the increased focus on products, in all categories, that are ‘free-from’ and non-GMO,” said Rudy Wouters, vice president, BENEO Technology Center, Antwerp Area, Belgium. “Consumers are looking to manufacturers to deliver products that are natural, but also lower in sugar content for the maintenance of a more healthy diet and lifestyle.”

Clean-Label Trending

According to 2014 data from Tate & Lyle, Hoffman Estates, Illinois, 65 percent of consumers in the United States are looking for calories on package labels. In addition to calorie reduction, 2014 data from Harleysville, Pennsylvania-based Natural Marketing Institute (NMI) found 53 percent of consumers are looking for products with simpler ingredient lists.

“The dual demand for calorie reduction and simpler ingredient lists makes zero-calorie sweeteners like stevia and monk fruit an ideal option for food and beverage manufacturers. And we’re already seeing manufacturers adopt these trending sweeteners in their formulations,” said Amy Lauer, marketing manager, Tate & Lyle North America. “In fact, stevia and monk fruit are the only high- potency sweeteners to see growth in new product launches from 2013 to 2014 in the United States [Innova, 2014]. Stevia in particular is gaining momentum with a 103-percent increase in new product launches from 2013 to 2014.”

Tate & Lyle’s stevia-based zero-calorie sweetener meets consumer demand for low-calorie and low- sugar products and achieves 50 percent or more sugar-reduction levels, Lauer said. Marketed under the brand name TASTEVA®, the ingredient doesn’t have intense bitter/licorice aftertastes, which eliminates the need to hide behind other sweeteners or masking agents. Easy to formulate with, it is ideal for a wide range of applications including beverage, dairy, baked goods, dressings, sauces, frozen foods, processed fruits, processed vegetables, snacks and cereals.

Alyssa Turner, associate marketing manager, Ingredion, Westchester, Illinois, agreed consumers are helping drive the clean-label movement by demanding answers to questions about where their food and beverages are coming from. “They have moved from label reading to label searching, often incorporating an in-store search on their mobile device to check food blogs and publically available health information about ingredients, especially sweeteners,” she said. “Although sweeteners as a www.naturalproductsinsider.com Page 1

[Sweetners] Vol. 25 No. 2 Summer 2015 category have received a bad rap in the eyes of many consumers, there are a few rising stars that receive ‘likes’ instead of disparaging tweets. The most commercially available and best-tasting of these is stevia.”

Turner pointed to Ingredion’s Enliten® rebaudioside A stevia that is naturally derived and sustainably- sourced in the Americas through the company’s partner farm in Brazil. “Consumers like this because they can see where the sweetener comes from, and know that it’s not artificially manufactured. From dairy to bakery and confectionary to beverage applications, stevia can provide an excellent solution to the challenges consumers and formulators face,” she said.

In addition to stevia, there are a number of natural, high-intensity sweeteners being considered for a range of applications, said John Martin, global director of technical development and innovation, PureCircle, Oak Brook, Illinois.

He said glycyrrhizin, derived from licorice root, can be used at low levels because of its licorice notes, but also can be used to mask some stevia notes. Mogrosides from luo han guo fruit has a clean taste, but the fruit is only grown in China and only harvested once a year. Thaumatin is a fruit extract that is more costly, but it has been approved as a sweetener or flavor enhancer. “It has not been widely used on its own, but does play a key role in modifying the lingering profile of stevia sweeteners. It is very potent, and if used too high, can cause bitterness,” Martin said. Two other natural, high-intensity sweeteners he cited include brazzein, an amino acid-based ingredient that has heat-stability issues, and fruit-based monetin, which imparts a clean flavor but is a premium-priced sweetener that is not yet approved for use in food and beverages.

Sweeteners in Confectionery

Consumers are sweet on confectionery treats, yet many who indulge in sweet treats are also trying to manage their sugar intake to ward off obesity and keep diabetes at bay. In addition, many consumers are monitoring their confectionery treat consumption out of concern for their dental health.

Pam Stauffer, global marketing programs manager, Cargill, Minneapolis, said this is an area that is prime for growth. In fact, Cargill has invested heavily in the oral care space, not only in proprietary consumer research to help its customers understand how to best position their products in oral care confections, but also in a 3-year clinical study to demonstrate the dental benefits of its branded erythritol ingredient Zerose®.

Erythritol is a monomeric polyol with several unique characteristics. It is produced from a carbohydrate source like dextrose or sucrose via a natural fermentation process and has no impact on the glycemic and insulinemic index. “Eythritol is an excellent ingredient to not only reduce sugar in confectionery products, but also to promote good oral health. In fact, it offers a better level of tooth protection compared to other polyols on the market today,” Stauffer said.

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[Sweetners] Vol. 25 No. 2 Summer 2015

Ravi Nana, polyols technical service manager, Cargill, said erythritol offers many benefits to confectionery applications such as a clean sweet taste, a cooling effect and moisture management.

“In chewing gum, the partial substitution of sorbitol with erythritol improves chewing gum processability, texture (flexibility) and shelf life. In coatings, a cost-effective combination of erythritol and sorbitol (ratio 40/60) delivers an improved, crunchy coating with better adhesion to center in compar ison to xylitol,” she said.

In mint-flavored products, erythritol provides an enhanced and long-lasting cooling effect. If desired, the cooling effect of erythritol can be masked by using mixtures with inulin, isomalt or maltitol. Erythritol also can be used in crystalline or powder form to provide a high cooling effect in a sherbet filling in stamped hard candies, or in double or triple-layered hard candies. “Erythritol-based lozenges can be made with a shorter drying time, excellent shelf life and a quality similar to traditional sugar- based lozenges,” Nana added.

And its benefits in chocolate applications are growing. “Erythritol is the only polyol that allows a greater than 30-percent calorie reduction in chocolate. Erythritol-based chocolate is non-hygroscopic, presents an excellent gloss, and has good snap and melting properties,” Nana said.

As compared to most polyols, erythritol also makes higher conching temperatures possible, resulting in an enhanced flavor development. “Tooth-friendly milk chocolate can be made with normal lactose- containing milk powder when erythritol is used as the sole bulk sweetener,” Nana said.

BENEO’s oligofructose sold under the brand name Orafti® presents a clean sweet taste but is even more soluble than sucrose. It does not crystallize, precipitate or leave a dry, sandy feeling in the mouth, nor does it degrade during most heating processes. “It also can be easily blended with high- intensity sweeteners to eliminate the artificial aftertaste of those sweeteners like stevia, resulting in a more natural, sugar-like sweetness profile and rounded mouthfeel,” Wouters said, adding the company’s isomaltulose marketed under the Palatinose™ brand offers health and technical benefits.

“Technically, it provides high stability under acidic conditions even at high shelf temperatures and a high stability against fermentation by most yeasts and bacteria, which makes it ideal for the production of prebiotic yogurts. Its nutritional benefits include a slower and lower rise of blood sugar levels, eliminating the boost and crash effect of sugar,” Wouters said, adding its sustained delivery of glucose leads to a constant stream of energy for muscles and the brain over a longer period of time and it’s tooth-friendly, a boon for chocolate products, candies, chewing gum and beverages.

Sweeteners in Bakery

Sweeteners are used in baked foods not only for their sweet flavor but also for their ability to bulk, structure, brown, aerate, fuel and maintain the product’s moisture, shelf life and appeal. Reformulating a sweetener system in foods is growing more challenging for food scientists.

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[Sweetners] Vol. 25 No. 2 Summer 2015

This requires consideration of a much broader and complex set of replacement ingredient options in order to maintain the equivalent sensory and processing properties of current brands favored by consumers.

“In baked goods, sugar acts as a tenderizer by retarding and restricting gluten formation, increasing the temperatures of egg protein denaturation and starch gelatinization, and contributing to bulk and volume,” said Kasi Sundaresan, Ph.D., senior associate, global sweetener development, Ingredion.

Thom King, CEO and president of Steviva Ingredients, Portland, Oregon, said pure stevia or monk fruit are high-intensity sweeteners that address the challenge of lost volume in bakery applications. “If you are going to use polyols in baking, you should consider a nutritive sweetener to encourage browning and rising,” he said.

He noted a blend of non-GMO crystalline fructose, inulin and stevia marketed as Fructevia works very well for bakery and confectionery applications. “Where browning, caramelization and yeast activation are a necessity, Fructevia delivers results with up to a 75-percent clean-label sugar reduction,” he said. “Additionally, Nectevia, a stevia-fortified agave nectar, replaces DE42 high fructose corn syrup.”

Martin noted that in baked goods, confections and some dairy, “you also need to build back the bulk of sugar and need a natural bulking agent in addition to a natural sweetener. This can be a complex carbohydrate like fiber or modified starch.”

Sweeteners in Beverages

Consumers may be looking for lower calories and simpler ingredient lists, but they won’t sacrifice great taste. According to the International Food Information Council’s (IFIC) 2014 Food and Health Survey, 90 percent of consumers rank taste as their top purchase driver.

Sucrose is still considered to be the gold standard among sweeteners; however, when replacing sugar, it is not just the sweetness but functionality that is affected. In beverages, sucrose not only provides the right onset of sweetness but also provides mouthfeel, texture and bulk properties.

“A key challenge in replacing sugar with high-intensity sweeteners has been to deliver a sweetness profile similar to sucrose. A 7- to 12-percent sucrose equivalent is a key target in the formulation of beverages. Some of the challenge in working with stevia is the potential for bitterness and lingering sweetness, which can become more apparent above 6-percent sugar equivalence,” Sundaresan said.

“One challenge when using stevia in beverages and other applications is the bitter aftertaste associated with some stevia ingredients including rebaudioside A,” said Adrienne Pohrte, team leader, beverage applications, Tate & Lyle. “As many as 83 percent of consumers are sensitive to rebaudioside A bitterness [Tate & Lyle, 2013]. Therefore, many products formulated with rebaudioside A must be formulated with other sweeteners and masking agents.”

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Martin cautioned that beverages present some issues when formulating for deep calorie reductions. “The Reb A sweetness plateaus at around 8 brix, and majority of carbonated soft drinks are at 10 brix or above. Other natural sweeteners may get higher sweetness but have negative taste impact,” he said.

According to King, a combination of stevia and erythritol marketed as Erysweet+ and a combination of erythritol, stevia and monk fruit extract (sold as MonkSweet+) have been in high demand for beverage manufacturers looking for up to 90-percent clean-label sugar reduction, particularly among cider brewers and malternative beverage manufacturers, where back sweetening is desired with no secondary fermentation.

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