FiE 2024: HTBA unveils Citrosa+ sweetener from citrus
16 Dec 2024 | HTBA
Supplier of flavonoids and B12 ingredients HTBA (HealthTech BioActives) introduced a new high-intensity sweetener to Europe. The ingredient produced with “green chemistry” from citrus can be used to reduce sugar and enhance mouthfeel in sugar-reduced beverages. Tom D’hoore, chief commercial officer, says the ingredient stands out for its safety profile at a time when high-intensity sweeteners face increased scrutiny.
This is Missy Green with Fitting Ingredients First.
I'm here with Tom Dora, who's the chief commercial officer at HTBA.
Welcome, Tom.
Very good afternoon.
Welcome.
Yeah, so could you first tell us a little bit about what HTBA does?
Yes, thank you.
HTBA is a company which has existed for over 40 years.
We changed names 5 years ago.
But we have been involved in two types of ingredients for the last 46 years.
On the one hand, polyphenols, and more specifically flavonoids, mainly from citrus origin, and on the other hand, active forms of vitamin B12.
Now we're here at the show to tackle both taste and functional benefits, so we use our flavonol.
To basically modify taste.
OK?
We can modify the sweetness.
We have a high intensity sweetener.
We have flavor ingredients that modify taste, flavor ingredients that basically, mask off tastes, OK?
Basically taste maskers and enhance mouthfeel.
OK.
On the other hand, we also have, flavonoids and specific forms of vitamin B12.
Which can be added to different matrices of products which confer a health benefit to these products.
OK.
Heart health, we cover heart health, cognitive health, active nutrition, basically general central nervous system benefits, and so on and so forth.
And you're launching a new ingredient today.
Could you tell us about that?
Yes, so basically we're launching.
Here in Europe, Citrosa Plus, which is a high intensity sweetener, which is produced from citrus, OK, where we have basically combined our ingredients with in a very specific formulation to modify its, solubility to gain in solubility and hence we get a sweetening profile which is closer to sugar.
OK.
Can be combined with bulk sugars or high intensity sweeteners to basically reduce sugar and get a more sugar-like profile while at the same time enhancing mouthfeel in sugar reduced beverages.
At the end of the day, what we want to do is provide our customers with tools to basically build brands which get higher consumer preference.
So this is a high intensity sweetener, but what makes it stand out from other high intensity sweeteners?
If you look at the current challenges, OK, in, in basically sweetening or sugar substitution with high intensity sweeteners, there's on the one hand, basically there are the authorities which basically are.
Executing an increased scrutiny of high intensity sweeteners in terms of safety profile and environmental impact.
We've seen that they have reduced recently certain max use limits of high intensity sweeteners.
They have severely restricted the use of other high intensity.
These sweeteners because of their environmental impact in different fields of application, not only in food but also in animal nutrition.
And basically there what we bring to the market is a high intensity sweetener produced from citrus with an excellent safety profile.
And being that a flavonoid, basically it's flavonoids are present in plant with zero impact on the environment.
At the same time, I want to highlight that we have more than 40 years of experience with green chemistry processes or basically water-based processes to produce our ingredients with minimum environmental footprint.
So can you tell us a little bit more about where these regulatory efforts are coming from, like geographically?
Basically what we see is that EFSA, they have a continuous program to reevaluate the high intensity sweepers in the different applications.
So basically there what you get is continuous questions really looking into the different applications.
Safety data, which you have to, basically update all the time.
OK?
While, in the US, where we obtained for this specific ingredient a no objection letter where we also had a full evaluation, there what we see more is on, the flavor side and it's a completely different regulatory concept.
Success more coming from the customer, OK?
Where they are more critically reviewing how sweeteners are used, what max use limits are.
This can also come from consumer groups, specifically in the US, who are basically executing mounting pressure on the food industry to restrict the use of, high intensity sweeteners.
