Using ‘rare’ sugars in ice cream, frozen dessert formulas affects everything
Using ‘rare’ sugars in ice cream and frozen dessert formulas affects everything from nutrition labeling to processing considerations, like the freezing point depression.
In our May column, we discussed the so-called “rare” sugars. These are sugars found in nature but at ultra-low levels. The most commercially available rare sugars are tagatose and allulose, recognized as providing sucrose-like sweetness (~ 0.90 and ~0.70, respectfully) at significantly lower caloric contributions (1.5 and 0.20 calories per gram, respectively).
Recently, the Food and Drug Administration announced its Final Ruling on the updating of nutritional labeling. This included new definitions, labeling options and, in some cases, standard serving sizes. For ice cream and related products, the revised serving size is 6 fluid ounces (up from 4 ounces) for packaged products.