NEW GENERATION NON-NUTRITIVE SWEETENERS-WHAT IS THE FATE OF SUGAR?

The non-nutritive sweetener market can never be the same after the run away success of Stevia sugars which are to day marketed as a natural low calorie/ no calorie sweetener globally. The dominance of synthetic sweeteners like Aspartame till the arrival of Stevia offered no choice to consumers with diabetes or those wanting to cut down on calories in their diet but Stevia changed all that and to day it is overwhelmingly being accepted by the consumer with least reservation. Probably attraction to every thing that is natural by the present day consumer society is pulling in more and players intent to develop sweeteners like Stevia. Recent arrival of Monk fruit sugar being made popular among low calories adherents is another attempt to tap this rich market. Like Stevia which has complex steviosides that contribute to sweetness, Monk fruit contains migrosides which have 300 times the sweetening power compared to sucrose. Hot on the heels are others like sweeteners made from the fruits of Oubli grown in West Africa. Here is a take on this emerging development which may have far reaching future implications in the low calorie sweetener market. 

Hot on the heels of the stevia and monk fruit revolution is asweetener derived from the West African fruit of the climbing plant Oubli, Pentadiplandra brazzeana Baillon. Oubli has been long recognized by natives of the Gabon Republic, a sovereign state on the west coast of Central Africa, and Cameroon for its sweetness. The sweet compound is called brazzein, and is an extracellular protein found in the pulp surrounding the seeds of the berry. First isolated as an enzyme by researchers at the University of Wisconsin in 1994, the super-sweet protein is now expressed in bacteria in order to lower the cost of production and eliminate the need for farming. After sequencing the DNA that codes for brazzein, researchers could use bacteria as little cellular factories that churn out the highly sweet protein. The newly formulated final product will be marketed under the name Cweet by Natur Research Ingredients, Los Angeles. Boasting a sweetening power 1,000 times that of sucrose, Cweet is promoted as a natural, easily dissolved and heat-stable sweetener that leaves no aftertaste. Stability at high temperatures makes the sweetener appropriate for baked applications as well as beverages. Since it's a protein, it weighs in at 4 calories per gram, but with a 1,000:1 replacement value for sucrose, it is essentially zero calories. 

How far this sweetener will compete with established non-sugar sweeteners is is matter of speculation right now though it does have the potential to become a significant player provided this plant is taken up for cultivation in an organized way. The economics also can pose challenges and the ultimate commercial viability will very much depend on the consumer cost. Though the process of extracting the sweet fraction is rather simple as it is concentrated in the pulp portion that surrounds the berry, still as it becomes popular questions regarding the safety of the product for long term use in humans are bound to be raised. The biggest advantage is that it is the most intense sweetener known so far with a 1 to 1000 sweetness ratio compared to sucrose though it cannot be categorized as a zero calorie sweetener in the strict sense as it does yield about calories per gm but as the quantity required to impart required sweetness in food products is so minuscule that it will not contribute any significant calories to the products consumed. It is necessary that the quest for unveiling many such low calorie sweeteners from natural sources with as high sweetness intensity as possible be continued since sugar cane cultivation is increasingly becoming unsustainable and the population requiring sugarless products for managing obesity and diabetes is expanding rapidly.  

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com

IMPROVED STEVIA-A NEW DEVELOPMENT

Though 80% of total sweeteners produced in the world comes from sugarcane, sugar beets and corn starch, the so called non-caloric sweeteners, both synthetic as well as natural are rapidly catching up with the former, growing at a frenetic pace. This multibillion industry boasts of a few well established synthetic sweeteners like Aspartame, Saccharine and Acesulfame, besides semi synthetic ones like Sucralose and Erythritol  while Stevia and Monk fruit represent the natural ones. Of all the non-caloric sweeteners, Stevia glycosides extracted from the leaves of Stevia plant seem to have created a sustained interest among the consumers, probably because it is truly natural. What is holding back Stevia glycosides from overwhelming the food processing industry so far is the bitter and licorcie like after taste noticed in most commercial preparations available in the market. This drawback is reported to have been neutralized by recent development of technology to separate the sweetest component of the glycoside cocktail present in the crude extract, viz Rebaudiside A glycoside (RebA) which has practically no after taste. Here is a take on this new development with some implications for the food industry world over, trying to create products with low sugar to cater to diabetic and weight watching consumers.

"Tate & Lyle (TATYY.PK), the British $5.7 billion market cap global ingredients and food solutions provider recently introduced Tasteva ™, a stevia product the company had been developing for over two years. Tate & Lyle tested over 80 stevia extracts to understand the sensory profile and characteristics. It then isolated certain steviol glycosides to optimize the sweetness that did not have any of the bitter or licorice aftertaste that has been associated with early stevia products. The company claims that feedback from customers who have tried Tasteva shows that the product delivers a clean sweetness and a clear taste advantage over Reb A 97 and other stevia ingredients. According toJeremy Thompson, Director of Natural Sweeteners Product Management at Tate & Lyle, these advantages had been demonstrated across a wide range of food applications, including beverages and dairy. The company also found that Tasteva can cut the sugar levels in colas by 50% with no bitter aftertaste and no need for masking agents. This is a big step in the evolution of stevia because up till now cola manufactures were only able to reduce the sugar levels 30% before the taste was affected. Tate & Lyle sees Tasteva not just for beverages but for food manufacturers that are seeking sweetness from a natural source. Tate and Lyle introduced Tasteva Stevia Sweetener in Latin America, as part of Food Ingredients South America in São Paulo, and plans for more regional roll-outs in 2013".

With the metabolic syndrome disease, diabetes spreading like a wild fire and more than half the population in the developed countries being either obese or over weight, time has come to sideline the nutritive sugars, if possible, in favor of non-caloric counter parts and Stevia and Monk fruit fit into this bill. Of course whether natural sugar as known to day, will ever be replaced completely by one or more of the alternative choices is a question begging for an answer. However considering that no perfect match has been found so far to match natural sugar in terms of its chemical, physical and functional properties, it is unlikely that sugarcane, sugar beets or corn derived sugars will disappear from this planet for the next 100 years! At best industry may switch to blends of natural sugars and non-nutritive sweeteners for developing new products with untainted sweetness and the proportion to day is 50% to 70% of sugar in such blends which may come down progressively in the coming years with renewed research efforts.

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com

TURBULENCE IN NON-CALORIE SWEETENER MARKET-WHO WILL BE THE WINNER?

Non-calorie sweetener market is considered to be a promising one with many major food players jumping into the band wagon to get a part of the pie. But there is little clarity regarding the likely winner in a fiercely competitive market though Stevia seems to be emerging as a favorite candidate to win the race. It is not that others are giving up so easily if serious questions regarding the advantages of Stevia, being hurled at this rapidly growing sweetener market are any indications. Most serious handicap for Stevia is that it has to undergo major extraction process with alcohol to obtain purer fractions with least after taste, thereby marring its claim to be natural. Here is an interesting compilation on the current situation vis -a- vis non-calories sweeteners market.

FoodNavigator-USA.com did a special edition "Where next for natural sweeteners?" Special editions are collections of previously published articles on topics of interest to this newsletter's food industry readers. Why do this? The holy grail of food technology is to find a no-calorie sweetener that tastes as good as sugar, has no bitter aftertaste, and can be marketed as "natural" because it's extracted from plants. Examples:Stevia extracted from leaves, Monk fruit sweetener. As with high fructose corn syrup, not everyone considers these sweeteners to be natural since they have to go through chemical processing steps. Stevia is extracted from leaves with ethanol. Whether this process can be considered natural is currentlyunder debate in Europe. Some European regulators prefer "extracted from a plant source." Here are some of the articles. For the complete collection, click here.

Monk fruit sweetener firm: 'We hear daily that people are looking for alternatives to stevia'

It might not have garnered as much publicity as stevia, but monk fruit (luo han guo) "has found a niche within the all-natural market but will hit mass market sooner than stevia in this space", according to one leading supplier... Read

Tate & Lyle: Monk fruit sweetener attracting most interest in dairy and beverages

Dairy and beverages are proving the most popular application areas for monk fruit sweetener Purefruit, says Tate & Lyle... Read

Different processes, lower cost, better taste: Is stevia still on track for mainstream success? Taste issues and high cost repeatedly have been raised as possible obstacles to widespread acceptance of stevia-derived sweeteners, but one of the many new suppliers entering the market claims that these are no longer the hurdles they once were... Read

Steviol glycosides are not 'all-natural', says new class action lawsuitA class action lawsuit filed in California this week argues that steviol glycosides should not be considered natural, owing to the "chemical processing" sometimes used to extract them from the stevia leaf... Read

Stevia buyers beware: There are some 'awful' extracts out there...

While traders "jumping in and out of the stevia marketplace" are disrupting prices and standards by peddling some "awful" extracts, high-quality stevia suppliers in it for the long-haul will ultimately prosper, according to one leading player... Read

Stevia in snacks and baked goods - stealth, competition, and potential

While stevia is beginning to take off in a number of baked goods and snack categories in the US, Asian and South American markets, some other emerging 'natural' sweeteners look ready to take it on in the segment, claims Datamonitor... Read

Naturally-positioned sweeteners to lead market growth: Report

The US alternative sweeteners market will grow by 3.3% a year to reach about $1.4bn in 2015 - and naturally positioned sweeteners like stevia and agave nectar will lead the way, claims a new report from market research organization Freedonia... Read

No matter which of the above candidates win the competition, one thing is certain- the fact that there is no going back on "natural" non-calorie sweeteners as far as the industry is concerned because of the huge market volume waiting to be tapped in the coming years. The pace at which new low calorie food products are being launched bears testimony to the demand that is emerging for such type of products among the consumers. For Diabetics and weight watchers including obese people, low calorie or sugar free food offer a life line which food industry is justified in exploiting.

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com

MOVE OVER SYNTHETIC SWEETENERS, HERE COMES STEVIA!

Stevia sweetener is making waves these days riding on a success unparalleled in the history of non-nutritive sweeteners. Food industry seems to be bowled over by the potential this sweetening ingredient can have in the coming years, its biggest asset being the "natural" tag it can claim as it is derived from the Stevia plant leaves through well known aqueous extraction process with no residue problem. Why there was so much delay for this sweetener to catch the attention of the industry and allow others like aspartame, saccharine, sucralose  etc to dominate the markets, till remains a mystery because the product was in the market for the last 30 years. Stevia industry, if one can call it so, was sustaining because of patronage from a single market, viz Japan and it was only after 2008 that it was recognized as a good sweetener. Probably approval by FDA of the US could have tilted the scale in favor of Stevia and the market got further strength after winning approval from the EU last year. Stevia industry has become an organized one with about a dozen players sharing the market and if FAO projections are to be believed this sugar substitute may capture more than 30% of the market within a few years. No wonder that more and more investors are entering this field hoping to catch a significant part of the pie and establish successful business. Here are some details about the Stevia industry as perceived by one of the latest entrants in California, USA.   

"The pace of new stevia product introductions is staggering, as more than 500 new products were introduced world-wide in 2011 alone. Some have experienced considerable success, such as Coca-Cola's Vitaminwater Zero brand that achieved approximately $110 million in sales in its first year. This success has occurred despite the industry still being in its infancy. To date, more than 85% of U.S. consumers still have never purchased food and beverage products that contain stevia. But, consumer awareness of stevia is rising fast, with the percentage of consumers that know of stevia growing from 32% in 2009 to 57% in 2011. Such rapidly increasing consumer recognition bodes well for stevia's continued success and market growth. This is especially true now that regulators in all major markets have approved its use, which no longer holds back the market potential of what many consumers and industry insiders have long considered the "holy grail" within the sweetener market. Jubilation over the success of new stevia products and the approval of stevia in the U.S. and Europe should be tempered with reasonable expectations. With over 10 stevia manufacturers world-wide, not every company will be an overnight success, and current growers and processors of stevia may fall victim to new market entrants, sophisticated new technologies, and an overall modernization and globalization of a fragmented industry that was formed more than 30 years ago and has until now principally catered to consumers in Japan. Technical challenges also exist that could eventually present obstacles to the rapid growth and expansion of the stevia market".

It is remarkable that the source of Stevia sugar known for centuries has remained in obscurity till about 3 decades ago and the search for non-caloric sweeteners because of wide prevalence of diabetes and obesity, brought to the fore its usefulness . Rest is history! The open arm welcome by the US food industry which is turning out thousands of products incorporating this ingredient either to replace natural sugar and HFCS or partially substitute them reflects its ready acceptability and the success story is likely to repeat in Europe also after the approval it got last year. America is a country where one third population is obese and more than 50% are over weight and probably Stevia can be considered God-sent considering the dire need of the population to cut down on calories for their very survival. There are even suggestions by really concerned health experts to blend natural sugar with Stevia to increase the sweetening intensity of the former and market the same as a low calorie sweetener. With Stevia boasting of a 300 fold sweetness compared to natural sugar, the scope for such products is unlimited and governments world over must consider favorable policy interventions to encourage such innovative products. The added bonus will be sparing of millions of acres of land, presently being used for cultivation of the water intensive sugar cane and sugar beets, for growing other more nutritionally beneficial crops.  

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com

NON-NUTRITIONAL SWEETENERS-SOME NEW INSIGHT

The inevitability of avoiding sugar intake by those afflicted by diabetes or obesity had spawned an entirely new industry which provides non-sugar sweeteners to satisfy the weakness for sweet taste among such consumers. Also cutting down on natural sugar is now recommended as a desirable practice and there are extensive campaigns to pressure food industry to offer products containing lower levels of sugar. Artificial sweeteners like Saccharine, Aspartame, Sucralose etc have been ruling the roost at some time or the other though their absolute safety has never been established unequivocally till to date. From time to time such safety questions get focused and here is another such commentary on these non-sugar sweeteners offering some valuable insight.

"Most people who receive e-mails will have seen the "Aspartame e-mail" which links this non-nutritive sweetener to every ill known to mankind. Most people will have dismissed this as scare mongering, but there have been legitimate concerns that aspartame may have behavioural effects or be linked to nervous system damage. These concerns were based on the fact that aspartame contains 2 amino acids (phenylalanine and aspartyl) and a so-called methyl ester. When aspartame is metabolised, the compound is broken down into phenylalanine, aspartate and methanol. Phenylalanine and aspartate are found in large quantities in all protein foods, so unless an individual suffers from phenylketonuria (a genetic disorder in which the body cannot process part of a protein called phenylalanine), no harm should be caused by these two common amino acids. It is, however, the methanol which is formed from the methyl ester mentioned above, that has come under suspicion and had been held responsible for damage to the nervous system and aberrant behaviour. Dr Magnuson (2012) pointed out that methanol is also formed in the human body from a variety of standard foods such as fruits and vegetables, something most people probably never take into consideration. For example 1 medium banana produces 21 mg of methanol in the human body, while a 340 ml glass of orange juice is responsible for 23 mg of methanol, both of which compare well with the 18 mg of methanol which our bodies produce if we drink 340 ml of a cold drink that has been sweetened with aspartame. The basic chemical evidence, therefore, does not support the theory that the methanol produced from aspartame will cause nervous system damage or change human behaviour".

It is interesting to read the logical argument that helps a common man understand the complexities involved in assessing the safety of a sweetener like Aspartame and probably the commentator above has valid basis to counter the scare mongering that goes around in the name of this ingredient. What is forgotten in these discussions is that there is nothing in the world which can be considered as absolutely safe and even water can be toxic under certain circumstances! Therefore modern man living in an environment mostly created by himself for comfort and convenience must be prepared for the risk that comes along with such paraphernalia. Life must go on in spite of such hiccups.

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com