TURBULENCE IN NON-CALORIE SWEETENER MARKET-WHO WILL BE THE WINNER?

Non-calorie sweetener market is considered to be a promising one with many major food players jumping into the band wagon to get a part of the pie. But there is little clarity regarding the likely winner in a fiercely competitive market though Stevia seems to be emerging as a favorite candidate to win the race. It is not that others are giving up so easily if serious questions regarding the advantages of Stevia, being hurled at this rapidly growing sweetener market are any indications. Most serious handicap for Stevia is that it has to undergo major extraction process with alcohol to obtain purer fractions with least after taste, thereby marring its claim to be natural. Here is an interesting compilation on the current situation vis -a- vis non-calories sweeteners market.

FoodNavigator-USA.com did a special edition "Where next for natural sweeteners?" Special editions are collections of previously published articles on topics of interest to this newsletter's food industry readers. Why do this? The holy grail of food technology is to find a no-calorie sweetener that tastes as good as sugar, has no bitter aftertaste, and can be marketed as "natural" because it's extracted from plants. Examples:Stevia extracted from leaves, Monk fruit sweetener. As with high fructose corn syrup, not everyone considers these sweeteners to be natural since they have to go through chemical processing steps. Stevia is extracted from leaves with ethanol. Whether this process can be considered natural is currentlyunder debate in Europe. Some European regulators prefer "extracted from a plant source." Here are some of the articles. For the complete collection, click here.

Monk fruit sweetener firm: 'We hear daily that people are looking for alternatives to stevia'

It might not have garnered as much publicity as stevia, but monk fruit (luo han guo) "has found a niche within the all-natural market but will hit mass market sooner than stevia in this space", according to one leading supplier... Read

Tate & Lyle: Monk fruit sweetener attracting most interest in dairy and beverages

Dairy and beverages are proving the most popular application areas for monk fruit sweetener Purefruit, says Tate & Lyle... Read

Different processes, lower cost, better taste: Is stevia still on track for mainstream success? Taste issues and high cost repeatedly have been raised as possible obstacles to widespread acceptance of stevia-derived sweeteners, but one of the many new suppliers entering the market claims that these are no longer the hurdles they once were... Read

Steviol glycosides are not 'all-natural', says new class action lawsuitA class action lawsuit filed in California this week argues that steviol glycosides should not be considered natural, owing to the "chemical processing" sometimes used to extract them from the stevia leaf... Read

Stevia buyers beware: There are some 'awful' extracts out there...

While traders "jumping in and out of the stevia marketplace" are disrupting prices and standards by peddling some "awful" extracts, high-quality stevia suppliers in it for the long-haul will ultimately prosper, according to one leading player... Read

Stevia in snacks and baked goods - stealth, competition, and potential

While stevia is beginning to take off in a number of baked goods and snack categories in the US, Asian and South American markets, some other emerging 'natural' sweeteners look ready to take it on in the segment, claims Datamonitor... Read

Naturally-positioned sweeteners to lead market growth: Report

The US alternative sweeteners market will grow by 3.3% a year to reach about $1.4bn in 2015 - and naturally positioned sweeteners like stevia and agave nectar will lead the way, claims a new report from market research organization Freedonia... Read

No matter which of the above candidates win the competition, one thing is certain- the fact that there is no going back on "natural" non-calorie sweeteners as far as the industry is concerned because of the huge market volume waiting to be tapped in the coming years. The pace at which new low calorie food products are being launched bears testimony to the demand that is emerging for such type of products among the consumers. For Diabetics and weight watchers including obese people, low calorie or sugar free food offer a life line which food industry is justified in exploiting.

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com

A NEW "NATURAL" SWEETENER- MOGROCIDES FROM "MONK FRUIT"

Monk fruit, a globose fruit of 5-7 cm diameter, contains the unique Mogroside 5, a triterpene glycoside, found to be 400 times sweeter than cane sugar. With a GRAS status for use in edible products, it is considered a futuristic low calorie sweetener with large potential in the food industry. The fruit growing on the herbaceous vines of perennial nature, is a native of Southern China and Northern Thailand and Chinese population has been using its juice for sweetening foods for the past 1000 years with no ill effects reported. Now the product in its pure form has been made for commercial application in New Zealand.

"The New Zealand-based company suggests that the sweetener, made from concentrated monk fruit, or luo han guo, could be blended with a range of natural sweeteners, including sugar, Reb A, or fruit concentrates in formulations to improve taste and cost efficiency.The sweet components of monk fruit – naturally very low in energy – are mogrosides, a type of triterpene-glycoside. When extracted from the fruit and concentrated, the mogrosides are up to 300 times sweeter than sugar, meaning that the sweetener could be used in very small quantities".

Monk fruit Mogrosides cannot be strictly called a Zero Calorie sweetener as being promoted in some quarters since it has 2.3 kC per gm as against 4.5 kC for cane sugar but its sweetness being much higher,one gram of Monk fruit Mogroside preparation can replace about 300 gm of sugar, equivalent to 1350 kC in foods when incorporated. Considering that Monk fruit is not a commercially grown horticulture produce by the organized sector, how far it can play any significant role in low calorie sweetener landscape remains to be seen.

V.H.POTTY

http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com