The benefits of cellulose
Allulose combines well with stevia and monk fruit, two naturally occurring high-intensity sweeteners. It has useful qualities such as assisting in food browning when baked. But maybe the most compelling reason to think about using the sweetener in recipes is something that happened in Washington the previous year.
In the Federal Register article dated April 18, 2019, the US Food and Drug Administration stated that it planned to use its discretion to exclude allulose from the total and added sugar amounts listed on the Nutrition Facts Label. The FDA started requiring the disclosure of added sugars on food and beverage items’ Nutrition Facts Labels in January of this year, which could raise consumer knowledge of the word.
According to the FDA, data indicate that cellulose differs from other sugars in that it is not digested by the body in the same way as table sugar. It is lower in calories, doesn’t cause any noticeable spikes in insulin or blood sugar, and doesn’t encourage tooth decay.
Allulose is classified as a “rare sugar,” meaning that it is present in nature in minuscule amounts.
It is now necessary to educate American consumers on the reasons that a “rare sugar” is not considered a sugar.
“I believe in due course, people will realize that this is an uncommon sugar that is not broken down,” stated Alex Woo, PhD, who serves as the CEO and consultant at W20 Food Innovation in Chicago.
According to Jim Carr, PhD, director of sweeteners worldwide ingredient technology at Tate & Lyle PLC, which sells an allulose sweetener under the Dolcia Prima brand, it takes time to raise awareness of a new component.
“Health care providers and consumers can still receive science-based education from industry associations about the health advantages of allulose,” he stated. We expect consumer knowledge of allulose and its advantages to increase as more food products containing the chemical are introduced to the market.
Selecting a sugar-related assertion
Undoubtedly, some allulose-containing products will state that they have “no added sugars.” Innova Market Insights, Arnhem, The Netherlands, reports that in US new product food and beverage launches in 2018, these kinds of claims made about 42% of all claims on sugar. Additional sugar-related claims included low sugar (27%), and sugar-free (36%). Additional research from Innova Market Insights indicates how many new food and beverage products have between 2014 and 2018, the average yearly growth rate for allulose was 45%.
According to Dr. Carr, allulose can take the place of most sugar in recipes like candy, ice cream, baked goods, and bars when the amount of sugar is decreased. In applications such as beverages, nutritional food, and dairy items, where high-intensity sweeteners like stevia and monk fruit replace the sweetness of sugar, cellulose may also restore bulk, he continued.
“Water-activity lowering, freezing point depression, browning, textural properties, etc. are chemical and physical properties of allulose that have been breakthrough contributors to the formulation of sugar- and calorie-reduced food products,” Dr. Carr stated. “Allulose has been critical in improving the sugar-like taste perception of these products when combined with high-potency sweeteners in other applications where they are used.”
According to Dr. Woo, cellulose is frequently produced by subjecting corn, a raw material, to an enzymatic process. Since more than 90% of the corn farmed in the United States is genetically modified, companies looking to get non-bioengineered/non-GMO designation for their products may want to look into allulose derived from maize sourced from Europe or China, he said.
According to Dr. Woo, soluble corn fiber and other resistant maltodextrins combine well with cellulose. It enhances the mouthfeel of drinks with less sugar. Dr. Woo stated that since the Flavor and Extract Manufacturers Association has decided that cellulose can be used as a flavor, it may be utilized to improve the flavor of drinks.
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Erythritol vs cellulose
According to him, erythritol, a polyol frequently employed in sugar reduction, has two disadvantages over cellulose, which is 70% sweeter than sugar. The browning effect that cellulose produces is crucial for baking. The second benefit might be taste.
Dr. Woo stated, “You could argue that it tastes more like sugar than erythritol.” “Erythritol has a cooling effect, but it tastes like sugar too.”
According to him, some persons are more susceptible to the chilling impact than others.
One benefit of erythritol is that it is less expensive than allulose.
Regarding allulose, he declared, “Whoever can figure out how to make this cheaper will be the game-changer.”
The amount available is growing. The end of 2019 saw the opening of an allulose manufacturing facility in San Juan del Río, Mexico, constructed by Ingredion, Inc., of Westchester, Ill., according to Afrouz Naeini, regional platform leader for sugar reduction in the United States and Canada. Since December 2018, Ingredion has partnered with Matsutani Chemical Industry Co. Ltd., a Japanese firm that produces Astraea allulose, to offer the Astraea brand of allulose.
“A wide range of applications are showing interest in Ingredion, especially those where sugar is essential for bulking, sweetening, and other functions like browning and freeze-point depression,” Ms. Naeini stated. “Nutritional products, frozen desserts, and ice cream are examples.”
According to Ms. Naeini, the combination of stevia and allulose is effective in a variety of applications, such as baked goods and frozen sweets.
According to her, there is a sweetness synergy between stevia and allulose sweeteners, which means that the combined sweetness of the two sweeteners is more than the simple sum of the sweetness levels alone.
Dr. Woo stated that allulose had a quicker sweetness beginning than stevia and monk fruit, more akin to the onset of sugar.
Allulose is manufactured by Blue California, Rancho Santa Margarita, California, and the company is now working toward self-affirmed Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS) certification for its application as a sweetener in food and drink. Blue California will start selling allulose on a commercial basis as soon as self-affirmed GRAS is established. Blue California is associated with Sweegen, Rancho Santa Margarita, a company that sells sweets made from stevia.
According to Dr. Woo, cellulose is currently allowed for use in a number of Latin American and Asian nations in addition to the United States, but not in any European country.