DouxMatok: It’s sugar, but not as we know it, Jim…
Israeli firm DouxMatok, meanwhile, is re-engineering sugar to taste sweeter, by using an inert mineral particle (silica) as a carrier for sugar molecules. The sucrose molecules surround and coat the particle to form structures that human taste receptors perceive to be sweeter than a comparable amount of sugar in free unassociated form – enabling sugar reductions of up to 50% in some applications, said SVP North America, Kelly Thompson.
While the firm's Incredo 'enhanced' sugar doesn’t work its magic in beverages or applications with high water activity (sugar is water soluble, so the above-described structure breaks down) it’s attractive to product developers because it tastes and performs (you can freeze it, heat it, bake it) just like regular sugar, claims the firm.
It can also be listed simply as ‘sugar’ on the ingredients list (the silica serves as an incidental additive in the US and does not have to be included on labels). When Incredo sugar is consumed, the sucrose is metabolized as normal and the silica (which is tasteless, odorless and calorie-free) passes through the body and is excreted.
DouxMatok – which has struck a deal with Canadian sugar refiner Rogers Sugar to manufacture commercial quantities of Incredo for North American food companies – has also struck a deal with Batory Foods to distribute its Incredo enhanced sugar in North America.