STEVIA FOR DAIRY

Brenntag North America said there is growing awareness among consumers about the health impact of empty calories, added sugar and nonfamiliar ingredients in food products. As a result, food marketers are eager to find solutions offering a clean, sweet taste with the least number of calories and a consumer-friendly ingredient statement. With these influences, the zero-calorie plant-based sweetener stevia is finding its way into many new dairy product launches. The main categories of stevia inclusion are spoonable yogurt with and without fruit prep, drinkable kefir-type yogurt, cultured milk drinks, flavored milk and plant-based milk alternatives. Brenntag’s Reb A, D and M stevia leaf extracts are all applicable in dairy foods, including sweet desserts such as frozen yogurt, ice cream and kulfi.    

317-764-3866; www.brenntag.com/food-nutrition

 

STEVIA BLEND

With the opening of the first commercial-scale fermentation facility for the production of stevia sweeteners in the United States, Avansya — a joint partnership between Cargill and Royal DSM — is now supplying EverSweet stevia sweetener to customers across the United States, Canada and Mexico. A blend of Reb M and Reb D, EverSweet delivers a more rounded taste profile with a faster onset of sweetness, enabling up to 100% sugar replacement. The sweetener’s clean taste profile is well-suited for reduced-sugar dairy products such as yogurt, chocolate milk and ice cream, Cargill said.

866-456-8872; www.cargill.com

 

LIQUID CANE SUGAR

Sugaright, a subsidiary of CSC Sugar, said Sugaright L350 liquid cane sugar is an economical and sustainable alternative to traditional water-white liquid sugar. Innovative companies modified their decades-old liquid sugar color specifications when they discovered that darker color options have no significant impact on the color or flavor of their finished products. Sugaright L350 can be used in products such as ice cream, yogurt and beverages. Fair Trade Certified, Bonsucro certified and Non-GMO Project Verified options are available to meet sustainability demands.

901-290-6623; www.sugaright.com

 

RAW CANE SUGAR

Domino Foods Inc., a subsidiary of ASR Group, said golden granulated raw cane sugar is getting increased attention from food manufacturers eager to meet consumer demands for less-processed ingredients. Raw cane sugar is mill-made and undergoes a single crystallization process. Available in granulated, extra-fine, powdered and liquid variations, as a 1:1 replacement for white sugar, raw cane sugar is not just a source of sweetness; it also has a mild caramel color and flavor that can add a premium feel to a variety of food products such as yogurt and ice cream.

www.dominospecialtyingredients.com

 

SUGAR SUBSTITUTE

According to Ingredion Incorporated, consumers have been choosing between the taste and mouthfeel of sugar and their desire to reduce sugar for years. The company offers Astraea allulose, which tastes and functions similar to sugar while adding only 0.4 kilocalorie per gram — and now with FDA draft guidance, no grams of sugar. Allulose is a rare sugar that exists in nature in small quantities, such as in figs and raisins. It has a clean sweet taste with no off-flavors and is about 70% as sweet as table sugar. It brings functional bulking and freeze-point depressions properties, enabling 1:1 replacement for sugar in many dairy formulations.

800-713-0208; www.ingredion.us/astraea-allulose

 

MONK FRUIT SWEETENER

Monk Fruit Corp. said it has an over 60% share of the global processed monk fruit ingredient market. Its monk fruit extract powder and monk fruit juice concentrate products are 100% natural clean-label solutions for sugar reduction and flavor modulation. Both products offer a clean taste without the bitter aftertaste associated with other natural sweeteners. Monk fruit is ideally suited to dairy applications in which consumers have an expectation of healthy nutrition. The low-calorie natural sweetness of monk fruit allows formulators to create great-tasting dairy products with less sugar and a better nutritional profile, while preserving the clean label that consumers expect in the dairy category.

847-367-6665; www.monkfruitcorp.com   

 

NATURAL SWEETNESS FROM HONEY

The National Honey Board said formulating with honey gives dairy food and beverage processors the opportunity to use one of the most natural and unprocessed sweeteners on the marketplace. Most “natural” sweeteners have been significantly manipulated using either extreme heat, chemicals or machines. In contrast, honey is just honey. Honey bees do all the heavy lifting. Dairy processors may use a natural unprocessed ingredient consumers want — honey — to provide flavor, functionality and sweetness to milks, yogurts, spreads, cheeses and more.

303-7766-2337; www.honey.com

 

FUNCTIONAL ALLULOSE

According to Tate & Lyle, allulose is a natural sweetening ingredient that provides the sensory experience of sugar without the calories. As a rare sugar, allulose is found in nature in small amounts in raisins and figs. It has 70% of the sweetness of sucrose and 90% fewer calories than sucrose. Tate & Lyle’s Dolcia Prima allulose offers functionality in sugar-reduced dairy applications, including imparting a similar temporal profile to sucrose, providing synergy with sweeteners such as stevia and sucralose, contributing bulk and texture, and depressing freezing point in frozen desserts. It also has a lower tendency to crystalize in high-solid systems.

www.tateandlyle.com