High-intensity Sweeteners–A Fair Replacement to Sugars?

Introduction

Is sugar bad for us?

High-intensity Sweeteners–A Fair Replacement to Sugars? All carbohydrate-based foods – fruits, vegetables, dairy, and grains convert to sugar molecules in the human body. Intake of these products reduces the risk of diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, and others. Added sugars in processed products such as soft drinks, packed fruit juice, cereals, cookies, cakes, candies, bread, cured meats, etc. result in adverse health implications such as obesity and diabetes.

A study issued in JAMA Internal Medicine (2014) specified that the majority of American adults consume a higher amount of sugars than is recommended for a healthy diet. The high-calorie consumption from added sugar is associated with a significantly increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality. All these health implications and growing consumer awareness have shifted consumer interest towards:

• Selecting a healthy lifestyle with low sugar & low-calorie consumption
• Checking product labels for clean labels
• Paying more for nutritious and natural product options

Health-conscious consumers seek advice from professionals – physicians, nutritionists, dieticians, and health care practitioners to manage their health better. Health & Nutrition professionals suggest reducing processed sugar intake and preventing related adverse health effects.

Industry experts foresee this shift in consumer demand and consumption trends as a humongous opportunity for the manufacturers of sugar alternatives and low-calorie sweeteners across the globe.

The current market scenario entails an exponential growth in low-calorie, energy-rich food consumption. The shift in trend has facilitated the market demand for sugar alternatives, especially towards the high-intensity sweeteners, which are included in the “diet”-labeled products.

Types of sweeteners available in the market

Sugar is the term used for soluble carbohydrates that are present naturally in various food products or sucrose in the processed food and beverage. Primary types of sugar include:

• Sucrose or saccharose, commonly known as table sugar or household sugar
• Glucose (dextrose)
• Lactose (milk sugar)
• Fructose (fruit sugar)
• Maltose (malt sugar)

 Sweeteners to replace sugar are classified as – Natural and Artificial sweeteners that include Aspartame, Saccharin, Acesulfame Potassium (Ace-K), Neotame, Sucralose, and Advantame.

Intense sweeteners or high-intensity sweeteners (HIS) feature higher sweetness when compared to sugar in relatively smaller doses. Additionally, HIS are calorie-free and can be used in combination with small amounts of sugar to offer mouth feel and volume to products, thereby retaining the likeness of the product and reducing the sugar content to recommended levels.

Consumers are more interested in HIS and are choosing them over sugar because they contribute no or only a few calories to the diet. It is also considered that high-intensity sweeteners generally do not raise blood sugar levels.

A. High-intensity Sweeteners (HIS)

High-intensity sweeteners are a structurally diverse set of compounds and all sweeteners that are much sweeter than sucrose (table sugar). HIS are non-caloric and non-cariogenic. Additionally, HIS does not contribute to dental caries.

1. Chemically synthesized HIS (artificial sweeteners) include – acesulfame K, cyclamate, saccharin, aspartame, and sucralose
2. Natural HIS include Stevia extracts and mogrosides

Worldwide, HIS is primarily used in diet and carbonated soft drinks along with its application in confections and other food products. Beverages contribute to the highest consumption of HIS, globally. Other potential application areas of HIS include food, tabletop sweeteners, personal care products (including toothpaste and mouthwash), and pharmaceuticals.

B. Regulatory Framework on HIS

USA

US FDA, similar to other food ingredients, regulates the safety and approval of HIS for use in processed food & beverage products. FDA has approved the use of seven artificial sweeteners in the USA – Acesulfame-K, Aspartame, Neotame, Saccharin, Stevia, Sucralose, and Luo Han Guo.

However, HIS derived from natural sources – Natural Sweeteners do not need the FDA’s approval. Steviol glucosides and mogrosides, plant-based extracts, are considered safe for consumption and do not require FDA approval status.

The American FDA regulations decree an estimated daily intake (EDI) for sugar and GRAS (Generally recognized as safe) concerning consumer safety on the consumption of sugar alternative based products, which is applicable worldwide. Exhibit 3 enlisted the approval status and significant properties of sugar alternatives.

European Union

European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) evaluates the safety of sweeteners. The European Parliament and Council adopted a regulatory framework (Regulation No.1333/2008), and from Jan 2011, consolidated all the existing authorizations for sweeteners and food additives into a single legal text. The Scientific Panel on Food Additives and Nutrient Sources (ANS) that operates within EFSA is responsible for the regulation of these sweeteners.

Sweeteners approved for Europe include:

• Stevia derivatives (HIS) as a natural non-caloric sweetener
• Acesulfame-K (E950), Aspartame (E951), Aspartame-Acesulfame salt (E962), Cyclamate (E952), Neohesperidin dihydrochalcone(E959), Saccharin (E954), Sucralose (E955), Thau-matin (E957) and Neotame (E961)

The EFSA has also set an acceptable daily intake (ADI) amount for the sweeteners, which is considered safe for the general population.

India

Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), the food safety regulatory body of India, has approved six artificial sweeteners for processed food products application that include:

• Saccharin sodium, aspartame, acesulfame potassium, sucralose, neotame, and isomaltulose

Active entities and new product launches

The market of sweeteners is saturated with many established players, SME’s and start-ups. Few of the established players active in the segment include Tate and Lyle, Plc., Cumberland Packing Corporation, Cargill, Inc., Ingredion Incorporated, Mafco, Archer Daniels Midland Company, and Associated British Foods, PureCircle, Toyo Sugar Refining Co., Ltd., Givaudan and Firmenich SA.

SME’s in the segment include Sweet Green Fields LLC, Almendra, Amax Nutrasource Inc., BGG, and Bayn.

Start-ups working in the high-intensity sweeteners include SweeGen, Milis Bio, and Miraculex.

Entities active in the sugar alternatives market is as depicted in Exhibit 4:

Rising demand for healthy processed products such as sports drinks, beverages, etc. is supporting the production of high-intensity sweeteners among the consumers. Stevia-based product launches are increasing at a robust pace. Manufacturers are investing heavily to upgrade and expand their production capacity to suffice the growing demand for low-calorie healthy food and beverages.

In May 2019, Mintel Global New Products Database cited 31% growth in Stevia based new product launches in the food and beverage segment in the previous year 2018.

Additionally, recent activities in the HIS market is as follows:

Is Stevia the new sugar?

The zero-calorie Stevia is gaining its popularity globally among the population of health-conscious consumers. Stevia is a high-intensity sweetener with no calories and is 200 times sweeter as compared to sugar. Unlike other non-caloric sweeteners, Stevia produces a balanced sweet taste and imparts no bitter aftertaste. The sweet-tasting components of Stevia are known as steviol glycosides and are naturally present in the Stevia leaf. Rebaudioside A (Reb-A) is the highly purified form of Stevia and is approved by the FDA.

Regulatory Status of Stevia

• Stevia extract has GRAS status
• Approved in the European Union for use
• High-purity Stevia leaf extract contains 95% or greater steviol glycosides, which is also passed by the regulatory agencies

Health benefits of Stevia

• Stevia has a promising role in weight management products
• Stevia has shown potential as a sugar alternative for people with diabetes.
  • A report published by Mintel showed that among the total number of Stevia -sweetened product launches in 2018, beverages saw a 36% hike, while food products containing Stevia increased by 27%.

Other advantages of Stevia

• A sustainable sweetener as it requires lower inputs of land, water, and energy and offers the same amount of sweetness as that of other natural sweeteners.
• The carbon footprint is lower as compared with beet sugar and cane sugar

Few of the major active entities in the Stevia market are as depicted in Exhibit 7:

Recent activities observed in the Stevia segment are as follows:

• In Feb 2020, Socati announced the launch of its CBD coffee brightener and a CBD coffee sweetener. The coffee sweetener is a Madagascar vanilla, brown sugar-flavored, quick-dissolving powder stick pack. It incorporates Stevia and monk fruit as sweeteners.
• In Dec 2019, PureCircle announced the launch of “Sigma Syrup.” It is a new variety of Stevia comprising of a blend of its proprietary Reb M and other Stevia leaf ingredients to overcome the limitation of solubility of Stevia.
• In Aug 2019, PureCircle announced the launch of a branded gourmet ice-cream line, which comprises of its next-generation Stevia sweeteners. The product will be initially sold throughout Chicago.

Stevia, a natural, zero-calorie sweetener, holds a promising future in the food and beverage industry in the coming years. Currently, Stevia is widely used in plant-based beverages, ready-to-drink iced tea, and ice-cream, and frozen desserts. Reports indicate that Stevia was one of the leading high-intensity sweeteners in 2016 that accounted for about 27% of total food & beverage products.

References

1. https://www.slideshare.net/hanaamahely1/types-of-sweetener
2. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/329788324_Low_Calorie_High-Intensity_Sweeteners
3. https://www.fda.gov/food/food-additives-petitions/additional-information-about-high-intensity-sweeteners-permitted-use-food-united-states
4. https://www.foodnavigator-usa.com/Article/2019/12/15/New-launches-from-Danone-bank-on-sugar-reduction-plant-based-probiotics-healthier-kids-options
5. Difference between sweeteners
6. https://www.fda.gov/food/food-additives-petitions/high-intensity-sweeteners
7. https://www.hyetsweet.com/products/high-intensity-sweeteners/
8. High-intensity sweeteners chemicals structure, properties and applications
9. The sweet danger of sugar
10. Added sugar intake and cardiovascular diseases mortality among USA adults
11. Global food use of bulk and High-Intensity Sweeteners
12. Sweeteners, high-intensity
13. A current and global review of sweeteners; regulatory aspects
14. Artificial sweeteners that are approved by FSSAI
15. Stevia, nature’s zero-calorie sustainable sweetener
16. What is Stevia ?
17. Stevia leaf to Stevia sweetener: exploring its science, benefits, and future potential