Ulrick & Short Launch Solution to Cut Sugar in Ready Meals by 30%

22 Dec 2016 --- Ingredient manufacturer Ulrick & Short has developed a new sugar displacement product that will reduce the sugar content of savory products by up to 30%.

The company’s new Avanté ingredient cuts sugar levels without any adverse effects on product quality, texture or mouthfeel. Ulrick & Short said that it is particularly suited to ready meal and sauce applications, as consumers get wise to the hidden ingredients in savory foods.

The company has invested significant time and expertise into proving the functionality and versatility of its sugar replacement ingredients in an extensive selection of popular foodstuffs, not least savory sauces and ready meals. The challenge, it maintained, was in replicating the functionality of sugar when it is replaced by artificial sweeteners or sugar substitutes – and that is the role that Avanté can play in a variety of prepared foods.

“The challenges relating to savory applications are focused less on lightness and caramelization, as in bakery, and more on the consistency of sauces and fillings, maintaining a superb texture alongside a credible gloss finish and enhanced flavors,” Ulrick & Short explained.

“In many regular savory ready meals and sauces, the sugar content has been increased to compensate for reduced fat content so it is vital to ensure that the replacement ingredients perform in exactly the same way, producing delicious products that are effectively indistinguishable from the original high-sugar versions.”

Ulrick & Short director Adrian Short continued: “During the last few years, targeting fat as the healthy eater’s nemesis unfortunately led to the increase of sugar content in many savory foodstuffs – with the result that the majority of consumers think that they are selecting healthy alternatives, but in reality they are consuming far more sugar than is recommended by the UK government and various other health authorities.

“Here at Ulrick & Short we have the solution. Our sugar replacement range can provide a genuine, functionally credible alternative for food manufacturers that also fulfils all requirements for taste, texture and flavor. In fact, our replacement ingredients tend to enhance flavors and spices rather than mask them, providing an improved taste experience for the consumer. Coupled with our other ingredients such as fat replacers, proteins and fibers, we’re confident that food manufacturers have everything they need to provide consumers with healthier alternatives to their favorite foods.”