Culinology - December 2021 - 24

INGREDIENT trends
Allulose is a sweetener that tastes and
functions like sucrose and is in the family
of rare sugars, which are sugars that occur
in small quantities in nature. It is absorbed
by the body, but not metabolized, making
it nearly calorie free. Allulose is one of
the many types of monosaccharides that
exist in nature in small quantities and may
be found in certain fruits, including figs,
raisins and jackfruit. Allulose has texture
and performance behavior like sugar,
providing comparable bulk, sweetness
and functionality.
Product developers increasingly have
turned to allulose in sugar-reduction efforts
since the US Food and Drug Administration
in 2019 exempted the " rare " sugar from being
included as a carbohydrate, sugar or added
sugar on the Nutrition Facts Label. Other
non-traditional sugars could join allulose
in receiving the exemption, but in some
cases years of research might be needed.
Those other ingredients include tagatose;
isomaltulose; the monosaccharides sorbose,
ribose, allose and L-arabinose; and the
disaccharides trehalose and kojibiose.
Allulose works well with natural highintensity
sweeteners like stevia and monk
fruit. It offers functional properties like
browning in baked foods. When sugar is
reduced, allulose may replace the bulk of
sugar in applications like confectionery, ice
cream, baked foods and bars. The ingredient
also may add back bulk when high-intensity
sweeteners like stevia and monk fruit replace
the sweetness of sugar in applications
like beverages, nutritional products and
dairy items.
Brazzein set to make its debut
Sweegen plans to launch the zero-calorie, highintensity
sweetener brazzein in early 2022. A small,
heat-stable protein, brazzein is 500 to 2,000 times
sweeter than conventional sugar, according to
the company.
The sweetener offers little to no aftertaste and helps
to reduce sweet linger, according to the Rancho Santa
Margarita, Calif.-based company. Brazzein is stable in
a range of pH, retains its qualities after pasteurization
and is soluble. It shows promise in fitting into
applications designed for the keto diet and other lowcarbohydrate
diets, according to Sweegen.
Brazzein is derived from the fruit of the West
African climbing plant oubli. Sweegen developed the
sweetener in collaboration with Conagen, Bedford,
Mass., which has scaled it to commercial production.
Conagen produces brazzein through a precision
fermentation process.
" Introducing a high-purity brazzein to Sweegen's
portfolio of natural sweeteners is one more creative
solution for helping brands make low-calorie, better-foryou
products, " said Shari Mahon, senior vice president,
head of global innovation at Sweegen. " Brands can
look forward to exploring the synergistic benefits of
combining brazzein and stevia for reducing sugar in
food and beverages in a cost-effective way. "
24 | Culinology | DECEMBER 2021
Culinology - December 2021

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