Sweeteners in the Food Industry

Over the past decade, the global food industry has undergone a significant shift driven by rising health awareness and regulatory pressure to reduce sugar consumption. In many countries, taxes have been imposed on sweetened beverages, and health organizations recommend dramatic reductions in daily sugar intake. This creates a complex challenge: how to reduce sugar without compromising taste, texture, and the consumption experience. Sugar is not merely a sweetening agent – it is a functional ingredient affecting sweetness, texture, water activity, microbiological stability, caramelization, color, and aroma. Developing a low-sugar product therefore requires building a complex sweetener system that replaces all of sugar's roles. At Gruda Food Lab, food technologists, formulation experts, and chefs collaborate to build sweetener systems that reduce sugar without compromising product quality.

The Functional Role of Sugar in Food Products

Sugar is far more than a sweetening agent. It affects: sweetness (the reference point – all sweeteners are measured relative to it); texture (dough softness in baked goods, freezing point in ice creams, gelation in jams); water activity (lowers it, contributing to microbiological stability); and Maillard reactions (creates color and aroma during heating). All of these functions must be replaced when reducing sugar.

Types of Sweeteners

High-Intensity Sweeteners

Very high sweetness potency, used in small quantities. Examples: stevia, sucralose, aspartame, acesulfame K.

Polyols (Sugar Alcohols)

Offer moderate sweetness and contribute to texture and bulk. Examples: erythritol, xylitol, maltitol.

Rare Sugars

A rapidly growing category. The most notable example: allulose.

Stevia – The Most Important Natural Sweetener

Extracted from Stevia rebaudiana, containing steviol glycosides that provide very high sweetness with zero calories. Main glycosides: Stevioside, Reb A, Reb D, Reb M – each with a different sweetness profile.

Reb A – The Traditional Extract

Long the most widely used glycoside, but with drawbacks: noticeable bitter aftertaste, long-lingering sweetness, and a less natural sweetness profile.

Reb M – The Next Generation

The most advanced glycoside in terms of taste: sweetness closer to sugar, significantly less bitterness, cleaner profile. Because its natural concentration in the stevia plant is very low, many manufacturers produce it via biotechnological fermentation – offering high yield, consistent quality, and lower cost.

Allulose – A Rare Sugar with Great Potential

Found naturally in small quantities in figs and raisins. Chemically similar to fructose, but barely metabolized by the body. Key properties: approximately 70% of sugar's sweetness, high solubility, contribution to texture and bulk, and participation in Maillard reactions (browning and caramelization). Unlike high-intensity sweeteners, allulose contributes to product volume and structure. Best suited for: ice creams, baked goods, beverages, and sauces.

Building a Sweetener System

Sweeteners are rarely used alone. Common effective combinations: Reb M + erythritol, Reb M + allulose, Reb M + a small amount of sugar. These combinations create a more natural, rounded sweetness profile.

Regulatory Status

Steviol glycosides are approved in the US, EU, Japan, and Israel. Allulose is approved in the US (GRAS). In Europe and Israel, allulose approval is still more limited but expanding.

Challenges in Low-Sugar Development

Managing off-flavors and aftertastes from sweeteners; maintaining texture when sugar's structural role is removed; ensuring microbiological stability; verifying interactions between sweeteners and other formulation ingredients.

The sweetener field is developing rapidly. Stevia – especially Reb M – together with allulose and other rare sugars, makes it possible to develop low-sugar products with a better taste profile than ever before. Through the right combination of sweetener systems, advanced formulation technologies, and food technologist expertise, it is possible to develop innovative products that meet modern market demands.