Jan 31 2012 --- BENEO, one of the leading manufacturers in functional ingredients, is presenting a range of new sweetening solutions at ISM this year. These include herbal flavored sugar-free candy samples using ISOMALT and Stevia as well as a new chewing gum concept which, for the first time, features BENEO’s Palatinose (isomaltulose) combined with Stevia. By combining BENEO’s functional bulk sweeteners with Stevia, a range of nutritional and health benefits can be achieved without compromising on the taste and mouthfeel of the end product.

 

BENEO is showcasing the ‘first’ chewing gum with Palatinose and Stevia at ISM – a toothfriendly and fully digestible chewing gum. The ingredient combination demonstrates a sugar-like sweetness successfully masking the liquorice-like aftertaste sometimes associated with Stevia. With the bubble gum market growing and counting for 12.2% of the total chewing gum market in value worldwide (Euromonitor 2011) and product launches with Stevia more than tripling worldwide in 2010/11 according to Mintel, the natural progression is the combination of the benefits of Stevia with the nutritional and technical benefits of BENEO’s toothfriendly sugar, Palatinose.

 

BENEO’s next generation sugar can be processed like sucrose. Storage tests have shown that both the texture of the core and crunch are similar to that of sucrose chewing gums. In contrast to sucrose, however, Palatinose is low glyceamic and toothfriendly. Its slow dissolution kinetics help to release flavors over a longer period of time and its very low hygroscopicity enhances the gum’s shelf life. In addition, using Palatinose in chewing gum retains the core’s shape immediately whilst the cores in other gums need to be stored for a given amount of time to deliver similar results.

 

BENEO is also showcasing a herbal flavored sugar-free candy with ISOMALT and Stevia at ISM.  The combination of ISOMALT and Stevia supports a wide range of flavors without any negative aftertaste, sometimes associated with Stevia.  This is due to the fact that ISOMALT enhances both fruity and subtle flavors and demonstrates good stability, ensuring that there is no difference in a product’s taste over time.  Not only does the combination of ISOMALT and Stevia ensure a refined taste profile over the lifetime of the product, but the combination also achieves a range of other nutritional and technical benefits, including sugar-free, low glyceamic, toothfriendly, low calorie and sugar-like sweetness.

 

ISOMALT and Palatinose are both derived from sugar-beet and have a similar sweetening profile. Their dental health and blood glucose benefits have been recently approved by EFSA. Both bulk sweeteners offer manufacturers an alternative to sugar while providing benefits to consumers.

 

“Consumers and manufacturers expect similar taste, functionality and bulk from a healthy alternative, just as they are used to experiencing with sugar.  Thanks to the work we have done in developing the optimum sweetening profile when combining ISOMALT and Palatinose with Stevia, a range of nutritional, taste and health benefits can now successfully be achieved,” comments Rudy Wouters, Vice President BENEO-Technology Center.

 

Achieving balanced taste sensations with ISOMALT, Palatinose and Stevia have been made possible by the BENEO-Technology Center.  Specialists working in the newly formed centre of expertise have worked closely together to overcome the challenges related to formulations with Stevia.  BENEO’s experience in combining its bulk sweeteners with Stevia supports the development of healthy products with a balanced sweetening and added benefits.