Culinology - December 2019 - 12

INGREDIENT trends

Serrano-Bahri and his team use allulose or the stevia glycoside
Rebaudioside M, or both.
"In replacing a bulk caloric sugar like sucrose with a 'non'
sugar like allulose and adding a tiny little touch of stevia to
round out the sweetness, we can actually achieve great success," he said.

Sugar-reduction 'tool kit'

Bill Aslanides,
senior flavor chemist,
Synergy Flavors
Photo credit: Synergy Flavors

Research and experimentation with stevia has continued
steadily over the past 15 years.
"The industry started refining the (stevia) molecules," Mr.
Serrano-Bahri said. "That's when we discovered there was
Reb A, then Reb D, then Reb M; all are [now] industry standard; the higher in the alphabet, the lower the bitterness and
off-flavor," he explained.
Mr. Serrano-Bahri finds the Reb M product fits a range of formulations. In combination with the rare sugar allulose it also can have a
synergistic effect. He is also a proponent of utilizing fruit juice concentrate
"to make the ingredient line look more appealing to the consumer for similar
sweetness." To achieve a honey-like sweetness, for example, pear or apple concentrate may be used to replace some sugar in a formulation.
Synergy Flavors, Inc., Wauconda, Ill., benefits from more than a century of flavor innovation
experience. Today, the company is working to develop flavor solutions aimed at "minimizing
the off-notes associated with low-sugar foods and beverages," said Rachel Dannemeyer, senior nutrition application technologist. "Additionally, we actively conduct research in the sugar
reduction field that translates to the types of flavors that we recommend to our customers who
are developing low-sugar foods and beverages."
Ms. Dannemeyer sees the addition of the "added sugars" line on the new Nutrition Facts
Label as a positive step in bringing transparency to the consumer regarding "the types of ingredients manufacturers are adding to their products."
In reformulating products, she suggested using natural, non-caloric sweeteners like stevia
and monk fruit that could serve to replace "some of the sweetness of sugar without the addition on the label." But the higher cost and off-notes may be problematic.
Ms. Dannemeyer suggested either allulose or erythritol may offer a solution. Erythritol is a
sugar alcohol well known to help replace the mouthfeel of sugar. Although neither is as sweet
as sugar, she sees both as the "best replacers on the market to give back some of the sweetness and mouthfeel of sugar," she said.
Perhaps most important is the synergy resultant in combination; examples include stevia and
monk fruit or stevia and erythritol. However, "even with these non-caloric sweetener combinations, it is difficult to achieve the full sensory experience of sugar," she said.

Meeting consumer expectations
Eighty percent of US consumers are limiting or avoiding sugar in their diet, according to IFIC
research. The research added that natural sweeteners are more desirable than either sugar
or artificial sweeteners. Cargill, Minneapolis, has been working to develop solutions that meet
consumer expectations.
"We have been engaging with customers to help clarify the implications of the new label on
their existing formulations, as well as proactively providing insights into strategic opportunities
to reduce added sugars and/or calories," said Wade Schmelzer, Cargill's principal food scientist. "This is about helping define what visually resonates with their consumer, tastes great and
makes shoppers feel good about their purchase."
Reformulation of some existing brands to reduce added sugars is underway, but, as Mr.
Schmelzer pointed out, it's complicated by the consumer's expectation that the reformulation
will match the original.

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Culinology | DECEMBER 2019

Culinology - December 2019

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