99 percent reb-A
Good&Sweet rebaudioside-A, a stevia extract, not only meets the FDA's GRAS status at 97 percent, but the vendor also has a 99 percent pure product, with the additional purity alleviating any off-tastes experienced with other reb-A products. The vendor started commercial production of this natural sweetener in 2007 and began its GRAS self-affirmation process early in 2008. The product is manufactured under strict GMP and ISO-9001:2000 quality certifications by NSF. It's 400 times sweeter than sugar, 100 percent soluble in water and stable in temperatures up to 350[DEG] F.
Blue California; Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.
949-635-1990; www.bluecal-ingredients.com
Monk fruit/luo han guo
A traditional food in South East Asia for hundreds of years, monk fruit (luo han guo) is a natural sweetener, but technology for cultivating and processing the fruit could not provide the volume, consistency and taste needed in a natural sweetener – until now. Through advances in plant varieties, seedling cultivation, growing methods and fruit processing, Fruit-Sweetness, a monk fruit concentrate, is now available, and has received generally recognized as safe notification as a sweetener and flavor enhancer from the FDA. This unique zero-calorie fruit concentrate sweetener comes from naturally occurring compounds in the fruit that are up to 300 times sweeter than sugar.
BioVittoria; Hamilton, New Zealand
847-226-3467; www.biovittoria.com
Natural erythritol
Zerose erythritol is a natural bulk sweetener that tastes like sugar but has zero sugar, zero calories, zero aftertaste and zero artificial ingredients. It tastes and functions like sugar in beverages, dairy products and confections and is produced by growing a natural culture that converts sugars and other nutrients into erythritol. Like sugar, it reduces water activity, provides volume and the freeze point depression needed in many frozen treats and has heat and pH stability. It can be used in a variety of low-calorie, low-fat and sugar-free foods. It's available in an organic grade.
Cargill Inc.; Wayzata, Minn.
888-798-7658; www.cargill.com
Crystalline fructose
Krystar crystalline fructose is a nutritive corn sweetener that is processed from high-fructose corn syrup into a pure white, free-flowing crystalline material or a pure water-white syrup. Pure fructose is the sweetest of all naturally occurring carbohydrate sweeteners. And Krystar also is a functional food ingredient. Its properties include high relative sweetness, high solubility, synergy with nutritive and non-nutritive sweeteners and interaction with a wide variety of food ingredients.
Tate & Lyle; Decatur, Ill.
866-653-6622; www.tateandlyle.com
Enhance sugar flavors
All-Natural Sugar Extender Flavor helps to develop products that reduce the calories and sugar, save costs but taste great. When used in a standard beverage, it replaces about 17 percent sugar, lowers calories by about 25 per 10-oz. bottle and lowers your case costs by about five cents per case of (24) 10-oz bottles. Any flavor profile can be achieved for that competitive edge you have been looking for.
GSB Flavor Creators; Kennesaw, Ga.
770-424-1886; www.gsbflavorcreators.com
Sweetener under review
Currently under review by the FDA, Advantame is a non-caloric sweetener made from aspartame combined with vanillin. Heat stable, it can be widely used in cooking and baking. It also can be used in a variety of other categories including beverage applications. Advantame blends very well with sugar and high-fructose corn syrup, providing food and drink companies with an alternative that has both nutritional and environmental advantages, and can be used by product formulators in low-calorie and no-calorie products.
Ajinomoto Food Ingredients; Chicago
773-714-1436, www.ajiusafood.com
Isomalt from sugar beet
With a taste as natural as sugar, Isomalt is the only polyol derived from sugar beet. Minimal changes need to be made to existing ice cream recipes, as it is very similar to sugar. The white crystalline raw material replaces sugar in a 1:1 mass ratio and is used where not only the sweetness but also the texture and mouthfeel of sugar is required. It significantly reduces the artificial aftertaste traditionally associated with high-intensity sweeteners. When combined with the vendor's OraftiP95, in tandem with the combination of oligofructose and high-intensity sweeteners such as sucralose, acesulfame K and/or aspartame, Isomalt creates a synergy that reduces the artificial aftertaste of the high-intensity sweeteners to produce a balanced, rounded flavor.
Beneo-Group; Morris Plains, N.J.
973- 867-2140; www.beneo-orafti.com
Sweet probiotics
Nevela claims to be the first no-calorie sweetener enhanced with probiotics, using the patented strain Ganeden BC30, which has the unique ability to survive manufacturing and baking temperatures and remain shelf stable. This survival can be attributed to its protection by an organic shell, which allows the bacteria to reach the digestive tract alive and in large numbers where it can provide the greatest benefits to consumers. Nevela can be used in a variety of traditional sweetener applications, as well as in baked goods as a healthy, no-calorie alternative.
Hartland Sweeteners LLC; Carmel, Ind.
317-566-9750; www.nevella.com
Another stevia
Opening possibilities for successful low-calorie products, Enliten is a sweetener extracted from stevia rebaudiana Bertoni plant leaves without undergoing any chemical modification. This patented plant strain contains rebaudioside-A, which offers a clean, sucrose-like taste profile without an unpleasant aftertaste found in some stevia products. It contains no artificial additives, enhances the sweetness and intensity of other sweeteners, including sucrose, erythritol, high-fructose corn syrup and crystalline fructose. It is 300 times sweeter than sugar, and suitable for consumption by people of all ages.
Corn Products Intl.; Westchester, Ill.
800-443-2746; www.cornproducts.com
