Sugar reduction: Novozymes launches online calculator to help dairies reformulate

06 Aug 2019 --- Enzyme producer Novozymes has developed a free online tool to help dairy companies to reduce the amount of added sugars in their products. The calculator asks for the lactose and sucrose content of a yogurt or a flavored milk, which it then uses to calculate how much sucrose could be reduced with the use of Saphera, the company’s enzyme solution. Saphera breaks down lactose into glucose and galactose, resulting in sugars that are almost 50 percent sweeter, reducing the overall amount of added sugar or sweeteners. Novozymes notes that this calculator will help companies to respond to consumer demands for healthier foods.

“Dairies are under increased pressure to find innovative ways of reducing the sugar in their products. Of course, that’s a task easier said than done. That’s why we created a new online calculator to estimate the potential to reduce added sugar in dairy products when using lactase. The calculator is a model and a first step for developers at dairies to predict how much sugar could be reduced and accelerate their benchtop work,” says Craig Sherwin, Ph.D., Technical Service Manager at Novozymes.

As lactose is not particularly sweet on its own, dairy producers often add sugars to the final product to suit consumer tastes. Saphera, which is a lactase, allows dairy businesses to use less sugar, as well as enabling the production of a wide range of lactose-free products, including milk and fermented dairy products such as yogurt, the company says.

“We know it can be a big step for dairies to change their formulations to use less sugar while keeping the same sweetness. But, with the right tools, it’s possible to meet this consumer demand. Using lactase as a foundation to a toolkit approach for reduced added sugar can strike the right balance,” Sherwin continues.

A 2018 Innova Market Insights Consumer Lifestyle and Attitudes Survey revealed that nearly seven out of ten consumers across the countries surveyed (US, UK, France, Germany, China and Brazil) had reduced their sugar intake. Many consumers are looking for natural ingredients and the substitution of artificial sweeteners. They are highly attentive towards the type of sugar substitution used in reformulated products and are very likely to accept a combination of less sugar and natural sweeteners over a sugar-free, but artificially sweetened formula.

Additionally, several countries, including the UK, have introduced a sugar tax, providing further motivation for companies to cut their products’ sugar content.

In other dairy tech news, Arla is trialing a 3D imagery system to monitor changes in physical wellbeing, mobility and weight in cows. If successful, the technology could continue to be used as part of Arla’s vision for using future technology to bring physical and behavioral wellbeing metrics together into one overall picture of animal wellbeing. The company has also been using artificial intelligence to better predict how much milk its cows are producing to increase efficiency.

By Katherine Durrell