Suppliers detail evolution of sugar reduction strategies and impact of nutritional profiling systems

13 Apr 2022 --- The sugar reduction trend has evolved as consumers demand more out of multifunctional and balanced recipes. FoodIngredientsFirst speaks to industry experts from Alland & Robert, Cargill, Kerry and Sensus, who detail how solutions to meet this end have been pushed forward by regulations and mandatory front-labeling policies.

Highlighting how sugar reduction has evolved in recent years, Coralie Garcia-Perrin, global marketing director for Sweet Taste at Kerry, says: “Sugar reduction has shifted from an emerging trend in the food and beverage category to becoming mainstream.”

“Sugar reduction has become a higher product development priority amid the rise of nutritional profiling systems such as Nutri-Score, levies and taxes being imposed in various markets and the overall bigger focus from media, health practitioners and consequently consumers on health and well-being,” says Philippe Chouvy, business development manager of sweetness at Cargill.

Garcia-Perrin states that a trend within this space is “acceptable sweetness,” indicating that consumers are not resistant to sugar entirely.

“Consumers focus on products touting lower sugar, reduced sweetness and clean label sugar alternatives that are gaining attention and significant interest in the marketplace. To add, 61% of consumers stated that they plan to eat healthier and will do so via reducing their sugar intake,” she says.

Balanced recipes are trending
Traditionally the focus of reformulation was on a single ingredient – reduction of sugars – with the surge in front-of-pack nutrition labeling schemes like Nutri-Score, the overall balance of the recipe is now forefront, Chouvy explains.

“This focus on improvements in Nutri-Score labels leads overall to more balanced products, looking to reduce certain nutrients and considering the increase of beneficial elements like proteins and fibers,” adds Chouvy.

“Fibers are very relevant for sugar reduction and positively affect a Nutri-Score rating. This is because fibers help reduce sugars, reduce calories and help with one’s daily fiber intake.”

According to Sensus, less added sugar works best combined with other benefits like more protein, fewer carbohydrates and digestive wellness.Also commenting on the front of pack labeling, Jolanda Vermulst, manager of market intelligence at Sensus, says: “Authorities worldwide have been developing policies to reduce calorie intake.”

“Since sugar-dense products are among the main contributors to high-calorie intake, these policies include promoting food product reformulations, taxation on high sugar products and interpretative front-of-pack labeling.”

“In the US, there is more added sugar awareness due to Nutrition Facts Label. Sensus consumer research showed that two in three US consumers pay more attention to the amount of added sugars than a couple of years ago,” adds Vermulst.

Sensus continues to explain that adding added sugars on the Nutrition Facts label makes it possible for consumers to make informed choices based on individual needs and preferences.

Nature-derived sweeteners
As consumers continue to distance themselves from artificial sweeteners, the “nature-derived” clean label claim gains further traction.

Last month, F&B biotech company Conagen has scaled its production of two new high-intensity sweeteners, thaumatin I and thaumatin II – dubbed “100,000 times sweeter than sugar”.

“In terms of sugar-reduced products, we see a growing demand for nature-derived sweeteners, which are well-known and easy to understand. Cargill notes that 37% of EU consumers make conscious attempts to seek out products that contain natural sweeteners,” says Chouvy.

“This helps explain the increased popularity of stevia, which has witnessed an increased uptake of 16% since 2015 and is finding inroads into a broader range of categories beyond soft drinks and sports nutrition such as dairy, confectionery, snacks and cereals and desserts and ice creams.”

Ocean Spray previously partnered with Amai Proteins to roll out a cranberry juice that features roughly 40% less sugar with the “hyper-sweet designer protein.”

Other novel sugar reduction solutions rolled out this year include chewing gum that blocks sugar receptors on the tongue, a plant-based “botanical sugar” and yogurt cultures that influence sweetness perception.

Front-of-pack labeling impact
In the EU market, the Food Information to Consumers Regulation revision holds some influence on the sugar reduction trend.

“Within the EU Farm to Fork Strategy framework, the European Commission will come up with a proposal for a mandatory European front of pack nutrition labeling scheme,” explains Chouvy.

“We can expect the introduction of such a pan-European scheme to be a driver for future reformulation, including for sugars.”

Cargill observes that sugar reduction has become a higher product development priority amid the rise of nutritional profiling systems such as Nutri-Score, levies and taxes.Chouvy outlines the challenges faced when reformulating products to have less sugar.

“In the EU, we need to reach a 30% sugar reduction to claim to have a sugar-reduced product. This is different from the US, which requires a 25% sugar reduction. Other challenges include that intensive sweeteners are not authorized in many bakery applications.”

“In addition, the claim of ‘no added sugar’ is not possible anymore in some key countries such as France, Spain, and Belgium if sweeteners are used,” he notes.

Consumers seek healthier alternatives
According to Kerry 2022 Taste Trends report, physical and emotional health is growing as a driver of taste innovation as consumers seek great flavors in F&B without compromises.

“The quest for great taste is even happening across zero-sugar, plant-based and diet or lifestyle-friendly options,” says Garcia-Perrin.

The key in sugar reduction is building back the important taste attributes of sugar taken out from a recipe during the reduction process, she adds.

“From a taste perspective, reductions of sugar – despite adjustments made from a texture point of view – generally will negatively impact a product’s flavor attributes, profile and dynamic. This can lead to an unbalanced sensory characteristic and reduced acceptance by consumers.”

“Reductions present significant challenges to manufacturers who aim to rebalance and provide the same, improved taste over the previous product or simply great taste in their new development,” adds Garcia-Perrin.

Beverages and healthy sweeteners
Consumers look to limit their sugar intake across F&B, and for a long time, the beverage category has been the main focus of their attention.

Acacia gum may have a masking effect on the aftertastes sometimes generated by sweeteners and act as a bulking agent (Credit: Alland & Robert). “Drinks are a major contributor of added sugars in the western diet. However, sugar reduction is also a priority of confectionery formulators and categories such as dairy, sauces and frozen foods are highly scrutinized by consumers,” says Jaouen.

“Over the last few years, many institutional campaigns have underlined the negative effects of sugar on humans.”

Last December, Israeli food-tech start-up Better Juice sealed its first commercial deal to bring reduced-sugar juices made with its proprietary enzymatic process to supermarkets. The company has inked an agreement with a major US fruit juice manufacturer for the implementation of its technology.

Around the same time, Tetra Pak and Sumol+Compal co-developed a fermentation-driven technology that reduces the sugar content in juice following ten years of R&D. 

“Traditionally, soft drinks were leading the new product development with sugar-reduced or sugar-free offerings, but now other categories are following suit. NPD with sugar reduction claims has doubled over the past ten years in Europe,” Chouvy explains.

Formulating the right rheology
Finding natural sweetening alternatives and compensating for the loss of stability and texture are some of the challenges faced by food companies, explains Jaouen.

Alland & Robert’s acacia gum may help the rheology of sugar-reduced products.

“Acacia gum brings stability factors by reducing the water activity, which means better preservation. Additionally, it improves the softness and mouthfeel due to increased water retention,” adds Jaouen.

“Finally, acacia gum can be combined with sweeteners,” Jaouen continues.

“For example, the loss of creaminess and bitterness in sugar-free food can be compensated by a mix of polyols such as sucralose and acacia gum. Acacia gum will have a masking effect on the aftertastes sometimes generated by sweeteners and act as a bulking agent.”

By Nicole Kerr