Tate & Lyle’s take on sugar in dairy products

According to James Blunt, senior vice president at Tate & Lyle, over the past few years, dairy manufacturers have taken a holistic look at their products to understand how consumers’ changing attitudes might impact them. Many manufacturers are seeing an increased demand for products with less sugar, fewer calories and more easily recognisable ingredients.

For instance, a recent survey found that 47% of consumers’ purchasing decisions were significantly impacted when products claimed to have low/reduced/no-sugar; 44% were influenced by low-/reduced-calorie claims.

However, according to Blunt, while many consumers want to limit or avoid sugars, they still expect the same sugar-like taste and experience.

When it comes to finding the right sweetener solutions, dairy manufacturers face a unique formulation challenge, Blunt says. Identifying just one sweetener that performs exactly like sugar but without contributing any calories is a challenge. The key to reducing calories and sugars without impacting the taste experience is finding the right mix of solutions. When formulating dairy products to deliver the taste consumers expect from full-fat/full-calorie products, “sweetener synergies” enable manufacturers to find low-/no-calorie and low-/no-sugar sweetener blends with the right sweetness intensity.

For example, high-potency sweeteners such as sucralose and stevia can be used in combination with sucrose, a low-calorie sugar, to reduce calories and sugar without compromising taste. Stevia, is now being used across nearly all food and beverage applications. It is a common choice in formulations as it contributes zero calories, does not raise blood sugar and is 200 to 300 times sweeter than sugar, Blunt says. This means stevia sweeteners can achieve the same sweetness as sugar by using only a small amount. In addition, stevia sweeteners are derived from natural plant sources, which make them appealing to a majority of consumers. In fact, nine out of ten consumers find the claim ‘naturally sweetened’ appealing.

In order to deliver against these increased demands, Tate & Lyle works with manufacturers to find the right mix of ingredients to meet their requirements. This sometimes means using a mixture of ingredients, such as sweeteners and fibres, to effectively deliver great taste and mouthfeel without impacting functional attributes.

A primary challenge of replacing sugar with high-potency sweeteners in dairy products is the loss of solids, or bulk. The strategy Tate & Lyle employs is to use high-potency sweeteners as bulking agents to make up for this loss, Blunt says.

For example, when reducing added sugars in ice cream, the freeze-point depression and total solids of the finished product are altered. Bulking agents and soluble fibre, such as Promitor Soluble Fibre, can be used to depress the freezing point and enhance texture.

The company also knows that despite its best intentions, most consumers around the world struggle to meet the recommended guidelines for daily fibre intake.

The World Health Organization suggests adults consume 25 grams per day, but most people fall short of this number. A third of consumers claim they do not consume enough fibre because there are not enough products with fibre available in the market. That means dairy manufacturers have a major opportunity to provide products with reduced sugar and calories that maintain a great taste, while also helping narrow the fibre consumption gap.

Related content

Leave a reply

Dairy Industries International