Sugar Reduction

Danone, Keurig Dr Pepper tell FDA that sugar reduction requires a different playbook from sodium reduction

09-Nov-2023 By Elizabeth Crawford

Research showing consumer preferences for sweetness intensity may not be as easy to reduce as their preferences for sodium suggests a “stealth health” approach of slowly lowering added sugar across the food supply may not be an effective strategy for...

Balancing sugar reduction, consumer demands: Why CPG companies might want to take the 'stealth-health' approach

03-Nov-2023 By Ryan Daily

CPG companies reducing sugar content to meet WHO and other health organization guidelines are increasingly relying on a variety of natural sweeteners, as the industry walks a precarious line in meeting those reduction goals and consumer demands, according...

Non-GMO claims around sweeteners are less impactful while ‘natural flavors,’ ‘no added sugar’ gain traction among consumers

29-Sep-2023 By Deniz Ataman

The influence of non-GMO claims on purchase intent is declining, while claims such as “no artificial ingredients,” “natural flavors” and “no added sugar” are more impactful, Carla Saunders, senior marketing manager, Cargill, explained to FoodNavigator-USA.

Natural Products Expo East

Joydays launches low-sugar snacks, believes ‘life’s sweeter without the spikes’

28-Sep-2023 By Elizabeth Crawford

While most Americans love a sweet treat, many don’t love the accompanying spike in their blood sugar and inevitable crash that follows – forcing them to choose between an indulgence and their health.

Soup-To-Nuts Podcast: Most consumers don’t want sugar or artificial sweeteners – but what do they want instead?

28-Sep-2023 By Elizabeth Crawford

More than fat or calories, the nutritional information consumers are most likely to look for on food and beverage packages is sugar, with a survey conducted by Cargill finding nearly two out of three consumers aiming to avoid it and the majority also...

Natural Products Expo East

Chocxo innovates at the intersection of indulgence and lower sugar to help consumers balance physical, mental wellness goals

28-Sep-2023 By Elizabeth Crawford

Sugar has emerged as public enemy No. 1 among consumers and FDA is looking for sugar reduction strategies at the behest of the White House – and yet, most Americans still want moments of indulgence with many people justifying them as much-needed support...

Sugar Reduction

FDA seeks strategies for reducing added sugar consumption at upcoming meetings

20-Sep-2023 By Elizabeth Crawford

FDA opened registration this week for a virtual public meeting and listening session it will hold Nov. 6-8 on strategies to reduce added sugar consumption, following a commitment it made last fall during the White House’s Conference on Hunger, Nutrition...

Nestlé enzyme tech cuts sugars intrinsically present in malt, milk and fruit juice

18-Jul-2023 By Flora Southey

The enzymatic process reduces sugar without needing to add sweeteners or bulking agents to replace its volume.

News

Nestle introduces 'breakthrough' sugar reduction technology

17-Jul-2023 By William Dodds

Food and drink processor Nestle has rolled out a new technology which its claims can reduce the sugar content of ingredients.

Balancing taste and nutrition in clean label sweeteners: Could sugar make a comeback?

21-Jun-2023 By Flora Southey

As demand for natural sweeteners grow, could consumers revert to arguably the most traditional natural sweetener of all: sugar?

WHO advises not to use non-sugar sweeteners for weight control in newly released guideline

15-May-2023 By Oliver Morrison

The World Health Organization (WHO) has released a new guideline on non-sugar sweeteners (NSS), which recommends against the use of NSS to control body weight or reduce the risk of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs).

Michelle Obama gets into the better-for-you CPG business with PLEZi launch

04-May-2023 By Ryan Daily

To change the food and beverage industry from the inside, former first lady Michelle Obama announced at the Wall Street Journal Future of Everything Festival this week the launch of better-for-you kid’s brand PLEZi Nutrition, where she will serve as a...

Community engagement is key for successful food reform, sugar reduction policies

02-May-2023 By Deniz Ataman

Sugar reduction policies and programs in New York City and Berkeley, Calif., could serve as public health templates for cities across the country, according to experts gathered at the Center for Science in the Public Interest’s (CSPI) Sugar Reduction...

CSPI’s Sugar Reduction Summit: “lowering sugar intake should be a high public health priority”

26-Apr-2023 By Deniz Ataman

Day one of the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) Sugar Reduction Summit centered around the organization’s sugar reduction initiatives for all food and beverage categories, aligning with USDA and the New York Department of Hygiene and Mental...

Multifunctional FiberSMART granted GRAS status as a dietary fiber

21-Apr-2023 By Deniz Ataman

The multifunctional and tolerable prebiotic fiber is resistant dextrin made from tapioca and 20% as sweet as sugar, according to its producer, Anderson Advanced Ingredients.

SweetLeaf and American Diabetes Association sweeten up another partnership through events and resources to promote diabetes awareness

20-Apr-2023 By Deniz Ataman

Similar to previous partnerships between SweetLeaf and the American Diabetes Association (ADA), the collaboration intends to bring more visibility towards diabetes risk and management and provide actionable ways for people with diabetes to improve their...

Experts recommend 6-teapsoon limit to added sugar following BMJ review, industry weighs in

18-Apr-2023 By Ryan Daily

Recently published research in The BMJ is providing fresh concerns about sugar consumption levels, as some industry stakeholders disagree with the conclusion and CPG brand look to innovate in the low- and no-sugar space.

How can soda manufacturers reduce sugar without endangering sales?

23-Mar-2023 By Rachel Arthur

How do sugar reduction strategies – such as low/no sugar products and reduced pack sizes – affect product sales? A new study explores how manufacturers can create ‘win-win-conditions’ in both reducing sugar and boosting sales.

Zevia CEO talks rebrand, the “rising tide” for sugar-free sodas

21-Mar-2023 By Ryan Daily

Natural soda brand Zevia is sweetening its branding with a new look as it aims to boost its household penetration and eliminate plastic from its supply chain, company CEO Amy Taylor told FoodNavigator-USA.

Dole experiments with BlueTree tech to cut sugar in juice: ‘Pineapple sets a higher bar than orange’

24-Feb-2023 By Flora Southey

One technology Dole Packaged Foods is trialling to reduce the sugar content in its pineapple juice comes from BlueTree Technologies. We hear about the Proof of Concept (PoC) process between an established food and beverage major and a food tech start-up.

Stevia sweeter news for planetary health than cane and beet sugar, suggests research

22-Feb-2023 By Flora Southey

Production of steviol glycosides extracted from stevia grown in Europe produces just 10% of the greenhouse gas emissions associated with sugar production, according a life cycle assessment.

Elo Life Systems unlocks funds to scale production of monk fruit-inspired high-intensity sweetener

15-Feb-2023 By Elizabeth Crawford

After unlocking full access to a $24.5m series A fundraise, North Carolina based food-tech Elo Life Systems is on track to launch in 2025 at least two forms of its new natural high-intensity sweetener “inspired by monk fruit,” but which it says will be...

Stricter school meal standards could require reformulation to lower sodium, fat and sugar

03-Feb-2023 By Elizabeth Crawford

Research shows school meals are the healthiest source of nutrition for most students in the US, but the US Department of Agriculture thinks they can be healthier, which is why it is proposing stricter standards that would reduce added sugars, fat and...

Low sugar Greek yogurt Two Good now a $227m brand, Light & Fit back to growth, says Danone North America

13-Jan-2023 By Elaine Watson

Two Good – a low-sugar Greek yogurt with 2g sugar per cup launched by Danone in early 2019 - has been a leading contributor to dollar growth in the total yogurt category over the past three years, while a zero-sugar version of Light & Fit has also...

KraftHeinz, Wyss Institute develop new approach to make sugar healthier: ‘We thought we’d come to the Wyss with an impossible problem, and they turned it on its head to present an even crazier idea to solve it’

22-Dec-2022 By Katy Askew

In 2018, the KraftHeinz Company approached the Wyss Institute to develop a solution to sugar reduction that is workable in a food production setting. After four years of collaboration, the research team has developed an answer: enzymes that convert sugar...

2022 in review: Rampant inflation, the end of the honeymoon period for plant-based meat, and added sugar under attack

21-Dec-2022 By Elaine Watson

With surging inflation and continuing supply chain disruptions, 2022 has been another challenging year for the nation’s food and beverage manufacturers. Here are some of the highlights (and a few low lights) and a look ahead to 2023.

Joywell Foods rebrands as Oobli, unveils first food product featuring oubli fruit sweet protein (brazzein)

15-Dec-2022 By Elaine Watson

After eight years of research and development, Joywell Foods has rebranded as Oobli, and unveiled the first food products – chocolate bars boasting 70% less sugar – to feature the sweet protein brazzein.

Amai Proteins finalizing initial closing of $100m round as it gears up for launch of ‘designer’ sweet protein in 2023

02-Dec-2022 By Elaine Watson

Israeli food tech startup Amai Proteins is finalizing the initial closing of a $100m funding round as it gears up to launch its first product next year: a designer sweet protein up to 3,000 times sweeter than sugar with a clean taste and excellent heat...

Zevia gains household penetration while riding out temporary inventory management issues

14-Nov-2022 By Mary Ellen Shoup

Zevia continues to gain new shoppers, increasing the brand's household penetration (+1.3 million households in Q3 2022 vs. Q3 2021) while the company sorts through temporary inventory management issues that have dented its full 2022 year outlook.

Better Juice opens full-scale manufacturing plant to tackle sugar content in fruit juice

02-Nov-2022 By Mary Ellen Shoup

Food tech startup Better Juice has opened its first full-scale manufacturing plant to enable commercial production of its patented sugar reduction technology, which can reduce sugar content in juice products by 30-80%.

Sugar reduction: Lactase grown directly in milk can create naturally sweet yogurt

27-Oct-2022 By Teodora Lyubomirova

Scientists have found that lactase derived from lactic acid bacterium can be used to produce naturally sweet yogurt, paving the way for the production of flavored yogurt without added sugars.

How Givaudan is re-thinking sugar reduction: ‘Holistic profiling is not about replacing the sugar experience’

11-Oct-2022 By Katy Askew

Givaudan has developed a ‘radical approach’ that it says can assist efforts to reduce the amount of sugar in products: ‘holistic profiling’. FoodNavigator hears more about how this new technique represents a departure from conventional approaches to cutting...

Sweeteners from citrus? Researchers find sweetness-enhancing compounds from citrus cultivars

10-Oct-2022 By Mary Ellen Shoup

Researchers at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) have found eight new sweetness-enhancing compounds in 11 citrus cultivars that could offer improved palatability and lower sugar content in food and beverage...

‘A critical milestone’ for stevia: HOWTIAN achieves up to 12% average Reb A yield this season

21-Sep-2022 By Elaine Watson

HOWTIAN has grown stevia plants with up to a 12% average Reb A yield this season, the “highest ever in the industry,” says the firm, which described the news as a “milestone not just for the company, but for the food and beverage industry at large, as...

Sugar-sweetened beverages and cancer: There's a higher risk of colorectal and kidney cancers, even after adjusting for BMI, says researchers

16-Sep-2022 By Mary Ellen Shoup

Regular consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) is associated with higher mortality from certain cancers, partially mediated through obesity, according to a study by researchers at the American Cancer Society.

WATCH ON DEMAND: Low-and-No-Sugar-Beverages webinar, 'Sugar reduction is still overwhelmingly important to American consumers'

03-Aug-2022 By Mary Ellen Shoup

Sugar reduction is still top of mind for most US consumers, but their motivations for purchasing low- and no-sugar beverages have shifted from weight management and dieting pursuits to achieving a sense of general wellbeing, claims Howard Telford, head...

Dr Robert Lustig weighs in on WHO sweeteners guideline: ‘Diet sweeteners increase insulin…’ Not true, say International Sweeteners Association, Calorie Control Council

27-Jul-2022 By Elaine Watson

According to a new draft guideline from the World Health Organization (WHO), non-nutritive sweetener consumption is associated with metabolic syndrome, something proponents of diet sweeteners say shows correlation, not causation, and merely reflects the...

IFT FIRST: Consumers prioritize sugar content over sweetener type, says Cargill

21-Jul-2022 By Mary Ellen Shoup

In the hierarchy of nutrition labeling, over half of consumers (58%) say they check total and added sugar content followed by the type of sweetener (52%) used in a product, claims Cargill.

Trendspotting at IFT First 2022: Sugar reduction... 'What consumers look at on the label in the US is calories, then sugar’

19-Jul-2022 By Elaine Watson

From more efficient production of rare sugars tagatose and allulose (and intriguing new possibilities with D-allose), to ‘enhanced’ sugars, and a mystery disaccharide that behaves like sugar, but is metabolized very differently, check out part one of...

WHO: Non nutritive sweeteners should ‘not be used as a means of achieving weight control or reducing risk of non-communicable diseases’

16-Jul-2022 By Elaine Watson

Non-nutritive sweeteners such as stevia and sucralose are not a panacea, but new recommendations from the World Health Organization (WHO) questioning their value do a “disservice to public health” by failing to recognize their role in sugar/energy reduction...

REGISTER TODAY: Low-and-No-Sugar Beverages: From Soda 2.0 to Flavored Waters

01-Jul-2022 By Mary Ellen Shoup

What will the next frontier and low- and no-sugar beverages look like? Find out during FoodNavigator-USA's free-to-attend webinar on Low- and-No-Sugar Beverages: From Soda 2.0 to Flavored Waters online event, broadcasting on Tuesday, July 26th at...

DouxMatok strikes deal with Batory Foods to distribute Incredo ‘enhanced’ sugar

15-Jun-2022 By Elaine Watson

DouxMatok, the Israeli firm behind patented technology that makes sucrose taste sweeter, has teamed up with Batory Foods to distribute its Incredo enhanced sugar in North America.

FDA denies request to exempt tagatose from added sugar labeling in decision slammed as ‘contradictory and illogical’

20-May-2022 By Elaine Watson

The FDA has denied a request to exempt rare sugar tagatose from the total and added sugars declaration on the Nutrition Facts panel, three years after granting the same request for rare sugar allulose, a decision petitioner Bonumose has slammed as “contradictory...

Picture warnings on soda offer a ‘promising tool’ in fighting childhood obesity, say researchers

03-Mar-2022 By Rachel Arthur

Parents are less likely to choose sugary drinks with health warnings, according to a study from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

News In Brief

Sweegen takes the pole position in race to commercialize sweetener brazzein with launch of Ultratia

01-Feb-2022 By Elizabeth Crawford

In the race to bring the high intensity sweetener brazzein to market at commercial scale, taste solution provider Sweegen is claiming first place today with the launch of Ultratia, which the company says is a key tool in improving the health profile of...

Icon Foods’ sweetness modulators ‘bury’ off-notes of sugar alternatives for more appealing flavor profiles

27-Jan-2022 By Elizabeth Crawford

Two new sweetness modulators from Icon Foods promise to smooth out the flavor profiles of popular sugar substitutes that, despite significant advancements, continue to fall short of recreating the flavor of processed sugar – either because they come on...

Barry Callebaut on growth opportunities for chocolate: 'Chocolate confections will always be a popular category'

24-Jan-2022 By Mary Ellen Shoup

Chocolate is one of the first places consumers turn to when they're looking to indulge, says global chocolate ingredient supplier Barry Callebaut, adding that future growth opportunities in the category will be centered around health, transparency,...

DouxMatok & Blommer Chocolate bring ‘game changing’ portfolio of sugar-reduced chocolate to US

19-Jan-2022 By Elizabeth Crawford

DouxMatok, an Israeli firm that is shaking up sugar reduction with patented technology that heightens the perception of sweetness, is teaming with Blommer Chocolate to produce a ‘game changing’ portfolio of chocolate products with significantly less sugar,...

Better Juice seals first commercial deal to bring sugar-reduced fruit juice products to market by Spring 2022

10-Jan-2022 By Mary Ellen Shoup

Better Juice said products made using its enzymatic sugar reduction technology are due to hit shelves in less than six months, following the completion of its first commercial deal with a US West Coast-based juice manufacturer.

New Year’s diet resolutions are back, creating opportunities & challenges for food industry, IFIC finds

04-Jan-2022 By Elizabeth Crawford

New Year’s resolutions to eat healthier – including cutting back on sugar and alcohol or adopting a new diet – are back in 2022 after many Americans took a hiatus from them last year as they navigated pandemic-related stress, according to new research...