Sweetener Market Research Articles

Are we using more sugar substitutes? Wastewater analysis reveals differences and rising trends in artificial sweetener usage in Swedish urban catchments

The market for artificial sweeteners as substitutes for conventional sugar (sucrose) is growing, despite potential health risks associated with their intake. Estimating population usage of artificial sweeteners is therefore crucial, and wastewater analysis can serve as a complement to existing methods. This study evaluated spatial and temporal usage of artificial sweeteners in five Swedish communities based on wastewater analysis. We further compared their levels measured in wastewater with the restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic in Sweden and assessed health risks to the Swedish population. Influent wastewater samples (n = 194) collected in March 2019-February 2022 from communities in central and southern Sweden were analyzed for acesulfame, saccharin, and sucralose using liquid-chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry. Spatial differences in loads for individual artificial sweetener were observed, with sucralose being higher in Kalmar (southern Sweden), and acesulfame and saccharin in Enköping and Östhammar (central Sweden). Based on sucrose equivalent doses, all communities showed a consistent prevalence pattern of sucralose > acesulfame > saccharin. Four communities with relatively short monitoring periods showed no apparent temporal changes in usage, but the four-year monitoring in Uppsala revealed a significant (p < 0.05) annual increase of ∼19 % for sucralose, ∼9 % for acesulfame and ∼8 % for saccharin. This trend showed no instant or delayed effects from COVID-19 restrictions, reflecting positively on the studied population which retained similar exposure to the artificial sweeteners despite potential pandemic stresses. Among the three artificial sweeteners, only acesulfame’s levels were at the lower end of the health-related threshold for consumption of artificially sweetened beverages; yet, all were far below the acceptable daily intake, indicating no appreciable health risks. Our study provided valuable, pilot insights into the spatio-temporal usage of artificial sweeteners in Sweden and their associated health risks. This shows the usefulness of wastewater analysis for public health authorities wishing to assess future relevant interventions.

The Controversy: Whether Sucralose Could Increase Blood Glucose in The Body?

Sucralose is the most used artificial sweetener around the world, accounted for 30% of the global low-calorie sweetener market in 2016. According to the inspection of 19915 pre-packaged foods in Hong Kong, sucralose is the most used non-nutritive sweetener, followed by acesulfame. In addition to the food industry, sucralose can also be used as one kind of subsidiary materials for correcting taste in suspension agent, oral liquid, tablets, and granules, which could cover up the bitter taste of medicines such as aspirin or traditional Chinese medicine compound. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had approved the use of sucralose, but whether sucralose intake has effect on blood glucose is not clarified clearly. For this purpose, we collected and summarized the clinical studies to evaluate the effect of sucralose intake on blood glucose since 1996 from PubMed database, hope it may provide some evidence for sucralose applications in food excipient or drug sweet excipient.

Palmyrah palm and its products (Neera, Jaggery and Candy)—A Review on chemistry and technology

The worldwide food sweetener market is projected to be valued at more than 100 billion dollars by the end of this decade, with the Asia-south Pacific region witnessing the highest market share growth. However, with increased awareness about the health hazards associated with the regular consumption of artificial sweeteners and ultra-processed cane sugar, the demand for natural, minimally processed, organic alternatives has also witnessed a surge. Palm jaggery is one such product. Made from the sap of the Palmyrah palm tree, this jaggery is believed to be a suitable alternative to sugar in all forms of food. This review provides a comprehensive look at all the advances made in the production and characterization of palm jaggery and its allied products. The review highlights the research carried out to understand the health benefits associated with consuming palm jaggery and palm candy.

Highly efficient fermentation of 5-keto-d-fructose with Gluconobacter oxydans at different scales

The global market for sweeteners is increasing, and the food industry is constantly looking for new low-caloric sweeteners. The natural sweetener 5-keto-D-fructose is one such candidate. 5-Keto-D-fructose has a similar sweet taste quality as fructose. Developing a highly efficient 5-keto-D-fructose production process is key to being competitive with established sweeteners. Hence, the 5-keto-D-fructose production process was optimised regarding titre, yield, and productivity. For production of 5-keto-D-fructose with G. oxydans 621H ΔhsdR pBBR1-p264-fdhSCL-ST an extended-batch fermentation was conducted. During fructose feeding, a decreasing respiratory activity occurred, despite sufficient carbon supply. Oxygen and second substrate limitation could be excluded as reasons for the decreasing respiration. It was demonstrated that a short period of oxygen limitation has no significant influence on 5-keto-D-fructose production, showing the robustness of this process. Increasing the medium concentration increased initial biomass formation. Applying a fructose feeding solution with a concentration of approx. 1200g/L, a titre of 545g/L 5-keto-D-fructose was reached. The yield was with 0.98g5-keto-d-fructose/gfructose close to the theoretical maximum. A 1200g/L fructose solution has a viscosity of 450mPa∙s at a temperature of 55°C. Hence, the solution itself and the whole peripheral feeding system need to be heated, to apply such a highly concentrated feeding solution. Thermal treatment of highly concentrated fructose solutions led to the formation of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural, which inhibited the 5-keto-D-fructose production. Therefore, fructose solutions were only heated to about 100°C for approx. 10min. An alternative feeding strategy was investigated using solid fructose cubes, reaching the highest productivities above 10 g5-keto-d-fructose/L/h during feeding. Moreover, the scale-up of the 5-keto-D-fructose production to a 150L pressurised fermenter was successfully demonstrated using liquid fructose solutions (745g/L). We optimised the 5-keto-D-fructose production process and successfully increased titre, yield and productivity. By using solid fructose, we presented a second feeding strategy, which can be of great interest for further scale-up experiments. A first scale-up of this process was performed, showing the possibility for an industrial production of 5-keto-D-fructose.

An assessment of the relationship between sweetener prices and high fructose corn syrup deliveries in the United States

ABSTRACT This paper uses an application of the Bertrand model to explain the relationship between HFCS deliveries and the prices of HFCS-42 and sugar. It finds that the HFCS deliveries and the prices of HFCS-42 and refined sugar are cointegrated over the period 1994:q1-2020:q1. The main results, based on the estimated long-run elasticities, show that a one percent increase in the price of HFCS-42 decreases HFCS deliveries by 0.153 percent. One implication of this result is that it would be helpful for the HFCS industry to prevent large increases in the HFCS price, which would prevent large decreases in HFCS deliveries and its share in the U.S. sweetener market. In addition, the price of sugar does not have a significant effect on HFCS deliveries.

Effects of d ‐allulose as a sucrose substitute on the physicochemical, textural, and sensorial properties of pound cakes

Pound cakes were prepared with four different proportions of d-allulose (25%, 50%, 75%, and 100%, designated AL25-AL100 cakes, respectively, with sucrose used instead for the control cake (CON)), and the cake product aeration, textural, and sensorial properties were evaluated. The crust browning index increased with the increase in added d-allulose. The solvent retention capacity was the highest in CON and decreased in the cakes with increasing d-allulose proportions. The crumb moisture decreased from CON to AL100, whereas the samples showed no significant differences in cooking factor, batter moisture, batter yield, and baking loss. The crumb hardness was the highest for CON and lowest for AL25. Aside from CON, the AL25, AL50, and AL75 cakes had high appearance and flavor scores, and there was no significant difference in the texture scores. These results suggest that pound cake can be accepted as palatable low-calorie, low-sugar cakes when up to 25% of allulose is added. Practical applications Sugar reduction is a global consumer trend and governments around the world have also implemented policies to reduce the sugar consumption, and the market for alternative sweeteners is growing accordingly. Based on the present study, d-allulose performed as desirable partial substitute of sucrose in pound cake. Regarding the low calorie and low glycemic index of d-allulose, replacement of sucrose with d-allulose would be an appropriate choice. d-Allulose can be used not only in the baked goods but also in a variety of foods.

Newcomers head for zero-calorie sweetener market

Companies based on fermentation technology are pushing into the business of making rebaudioside M, a zero-calorie sweetener extracted from the stevia plant. The Bay Area biotech firm Amyris says it will launch a Reb M-based sweetener in 2019. It intends to produce the molecule from sugarcane syrup on a large scale via fermentation with modified microbes. Plant-extracted stevia sweeteners can contain bitter-tasting molecules, Amyris says. Reb M is considered the sweetest of steviol glycosides, but it exists in only tiny quantities in the stevia plant. Amyris has linked up with ASR Group, the cane-sugar refiner that owns the Domino Sugar and C&H Sugar brands. ASR has agreed to buy 80% of Amyris’s sweetener output for three years. The company also has partnerships with Brazilian firms, including the cane-sugar producer Raízen. Shoppers in the South American country will be the first to try a tabletop sweetener version of Reb M, made

In vitro and ex vitro propagation of Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni with high Rebaudioside-A content—A commercial scale application

Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni is a self-incompatible and the pollination is an entomophilous short-day plant. Rebaudioside A, as an individual steviol glycoside, is of particular interest in global sweetener market due to its most desirable flavour profile as compared to stevioside having aftertaste bitterness. In the present investigation, regenerant formation was performed for 6 weeks, in which randomly selected nodes excised from in vitro germinated seedlings were cultured on solid Murashige and Skoog medium (MS) with or without growth regulators (6-benzylaminopurine- BAP or kinetin- KIN) at various concentrations (ranging from 0.1 to 2.0mg/L). Irrespective of the medium composition, the results showed that all treatments were effective for shoot induction, producing an average of 2 shoots per explant after three weeks of culture. Following subsequent sub-culturing on MS medium at 3-week intervals, all the shoots regenerated from the nodes were transferred to MS medium with or without indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) or naphthalene acetic acid (NAA) at two different concentrations (0.25 or 0.50mg/L) for root formation for 3 weeks. IAA was more effective for root formation, producing 7.6 roots per shoot with 100% rooting frequency. All the regenerants (∼13.5cm in length) were potted and successfully acclimatized in a greenhouse for 2 weeks, and then transferred to the field for 14 weeks with a high survival rate (>99%). Similarly, seedlings (8 weeks-old) derived from seed germination in pots were also transferred to the same field in a different plot. There was no significant difference in terms of morphological, yield performance and steviol glycoside compositions between regenerants and seedlings sampled from two developmental periods (late vegetative and flowering period). It was clearly shown that clonal propagation using nodal explants was effective for superior stock plant production with high Reb-A content (11.7% w/w).

Isoglucose – How significant is the threat to the EU sugar industry?

The EU is about to abolish the sugar – and the isoglucose – quota system in 2016/17. Isoglucose made from corn occupies about 50% of the US sweetener market while its market share in the EU caloric sweetener market is less than 5%. Against this background, this paper analyses the economics of isoglucose production in Europe in order to understand its competitiveness vis-à-vis sugar. Key results: (1) Isoglucose will become a rather competitive product. The EU sugar industry will have to give up about 40% of its current processing and profit margin in order to sell sugar at the same price as isoglucose will be traded; (2) Once industrial sugar users move to isoglucose, they will tend to be “hooked-in,” giving the sugar industry a strong incentive to defend its market share; and (3) Since only about 30% of the current sugar market is able to switch to isoglucose, the sugar industry has the option to practice a mixed calculation. In an extreme scenario, the industry may even opt to cross-subsidize sales. Therefore it’s not clear whether investors in isoglucose will be able to gain a major market share in Europe.

An improvised process of isolation, purification of steviosides from Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni leaves and its biological activity

SummaryThe food industry has traditionally used sugar (sucrose) as a sweetening agent; however the dietary and health demands are continuing to expand the market for sweeteners as an alternative to sucrose. The leaves of Stevia rebaudiana are rich source of glycosides that have sweet taste with low calorific value. The study highlights extraction of steviosides from leaves using pressurised hot water extractor, followed by purification and concentration of the sweet glycosides through ultra (UF) and nano (NF) filtration membrane in obtaining high purity steviosides. After the final purification process the stevioside content was 9.05 g per 100 g and rebaudioside A 0.2 g per 100 g stevia leaf, with total purity of stevioside 97.66% by HPLC at total operation time of 7 h. This process also improved the potency of sweetness and palatability profile when compare with other commercially available steviosides. Thus, the methodology developed establishes simple, in‐expensive and eco‐friendly process in obtaining pure steviosides.

Plant bioreactors – the taste of sweet success

Thaumatins are intensely sweet proteins (3000 times sweeter than the same weight of sucrose) that are found in the arils of the tropical perennial plant Thaumatococcus daniellii Benth and are produced commercially by aqueous extraction from the fruits. The proteins are widely used as sweeteners and flavor enhancers in the food industry, and the European Food Safety Association (EFSA) has recently confirmed that their use as feed additive (1 to 5 mg/kg complete feed) is safe for all animal species. Given the large market for sweeteners and flavor enhancers, thaumatins could become increasingly important in the food and feed additives sector. In this issue of Biotechnology Journal, a study examines the production of thaumatin in tobacco hairy root cultures.

Sugar's Political By-Product: The Caribbean Basin Initiative

American agricultural and foreign aid policies have frequently been portrayed as inconsistent with each other. What United States officials give with the right hand of foreign aid, the critics argue, they take away with the left hand of agricultural protection and subsidies that distort world food markets, undermine developing country agricultural exports, and render US policy toward the Global South incoherent at best. This paper takes issue with the conventional wisdom, however, by arguing that foreign aid is more product than victim of US agricultural policy. Using the case of American aid to the Caribbean Basin, which grew in tandem with the protection of the domestic sugar and sweetener market in the 1980s, this paper argues that US officials use foreign aid to compensate the victims of their agricultural policies—and in so doing unearth the hidden logic of US policy toward the developing world. A Chinese version of this article's abstract is available online at: www.informaworld.com/rglo

Delineating the Relevant U.S. Sweetener Markets

The relevant market in the U.S. sweetener complex was a subject of debate in the United States v. Archer-Daniels Midland, Co. &amp; Nabisco court case, in which the defendants successfully argued that price fixing in the non-sugar sweetener market was impossible because sugar and high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) were substitutes. Hence, they were both part of the so-called “relevant market.” We use cointegration analysis to show that over a large period of time, sugar prices and HFCS were positively correlated. However, focusing only on the time period 1997 through 2001, sugar and HFCS prices are not correlated. This lack of correlation in the later period implies that beginning in 1997, the relevant market for HFCS does not include sugar. Thus questions are continuingly raised as to the competitiveness of the HFCS industry.

Price behaviour in the US sweetener market: a cointegration approach

The sweetener market in the United States is complicated because of the substitution possibilities between high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) and sugar. This study focuses on the relationship between raw sugar prices and the prices for high fructose corn syrup. Sugar and HFCS are imperfect substitutes for several industrial uses. Sugar can be used for all industrial uses, but HFCS has limited uses. This study uses cointegration analysis to examine the relationship between sugar and HFCS prices as well as the relationship between raw and refined sugar prices over time. The results indicate that sugar and HFCS prices move together for the 1983–1996 period. However, after this time period HFCS prices no longer follow sugar prices.

The development of the UK market for intense and bulk sweeteners

Summarizes the recent changes that have taken place in both the individual intense and bulk sweeteners markets and considers their likely influence on the pattern of intake observed in the 1987/88 diary record surveys carried out by MAFF. The intense sweetener market continues to develop steadily, largely driven by the diet, low‐calorie and reduced calorie soft drinks market. The bulk sweeteners market has not been subject to the same rapid development experienced for intense sweeteners, but the signs are there that the market for this class of sweetener is starting to develop and a variety of new applications are beginning to emerge. Provides a brief overview for each of the currently approved individual intense and bulk sweeteners and describes their contribution to the UK sweeteners market. Discusses the implications of the EC Sweeteners Directive, which has recently been adopted by member states and will be implemented in the UK within the next year or so, in relation to acceptable levels of sweetener intake.

Economic impacts of isoglucose deregulation on the European sweetener market

The EU sweetener market is highly regulated. In particular, production of isoglucose, the main competitor of sugar, is limited to about two percent of the sugar quota. Using a product differentiation model and game theory, we develop a normative analysis of the sweetener market and analyse the potential impact of the liberalisation of isoglucose production. We show that use of isoglucose in the EU would be a smaller percentage of total sweetener use than it is in the United States. We also demonstrate that such a liberalisation could not increase welfare if it is not accompanied by a reduction in the sugar quota. Copyright 1995 by Oxford University Press.

糖質利用の新しい展望

A lot of carbohydrate products are now in industrial use . Modified starch must be the oldest one of the products . Starch hydrolyzates such as dextrose and maltose are useful sweet ener and high fructose corn syrup founded a big sweetener market. Sugar transferred oligosaccharides, coupling sugar and fructo-oligosaccharide have been established asnew physiological functional sugars which are good for health . Recently, many different kinds of sugars and sugar chains that exist widely in living cells have been shown to play an important role as bi ological signal substances . In this paper the usefulness of these carbohydrates is reviewed.

Différenciation des produits sur le marché des édulcorants : un modèle d'analyse

Product differentiation on sweeteners market : an analysis model. The European sweetener market is higbly influenced by the regulation. Sucrose market is a reserved one and price and quantifies are guaranted. EC prices are bigher than world prices and the production of the main competitors of sucrose, namely "high fructose corn syrup" (HFCS) produced from cereals, are restricted to about 2% of the market. In the whole, few European researchers have analysed this competition between sweeteners and its implications for agricultural policy. Smith (1978) analyses the trend of sweeteners markets (sugar from beet and HFCS from cereals) and its implications for economie policy. In particular he shows the differences between the US and EC situations. Even in the EC, the author suggests that a liberalization ofHFCS market allows it to take some market share to sugar in particular in countries like Italy where beet production is still adapted. The aim of this paper is to characterize the competition between cereal and sugar beet sweeteners. We focus on the imperfect compétition on this market with the help of models where the product differentiation is explieitely taking into account (address model of product differentiation à la Hotelling, 1929). The consumers program imply a vertical differentiation model where the consumers have différent fastes between the offering qualifies (following Mussa and Rosen, 1978 and Champsaur and Rochet, 1989). Nevertheless minimising provision costs could imply to use more than one kind of product when starch sweeteners are not sufficiently substituable with the sucrose. We show that microeconomic analysis of consumers andfirms behaviours on this specifie market allows us to throw back into question several of generally accepted ideas based on econometric results of demandin the US market (Lopez and Sepulveda, 1983). In particular, we define a price map characterized by some areas where products benefit in fact of a monopoly power and by others areas where there is effective competition. Simulations on final demand of sweeteners in France and EC are also presented according to différent assumptions on régulation and prices (we distinguish ten sectors of consumption). It appears that within small differences of prices, the cereal sweeteners could take over sugar markets for some particular uses such as soft drinks. When sugar prices are about 20 % higher that HFCS prices, substitution in sweeteners coule represent a quar- ter of the total demande in sugar. In comparison with the US market, where HFCS replace about 50 % of sugar, this market for HFCS is rather small. This is mainly due to the différences in the structure of consumption.

Tropical Plants with Sweetening Properties: Physiological and Agronomic Problems of Protected Cropping I.Dioscoreophyllum cumminsii

Plant species with unusual taste properties such as bitterness, sourness or sweetness, and others with a taste-modifying component, have long been known to man, although their exploitation has been limited (Inglett and May, 1968). As there are several limiting taste qualities to commercially available sweeteners (Rader et al., 1967), a superior synthetic compound could readily expand the present sweetener market (Inglett and May, 1969). The recent restriction on the use of artificial sweeteners such as cyclamate in the U.S.A. and other countries highlights the commercial potential for indigenous plant species with taste-modifying properties or sweetening principles (Adansi, 1970). A harmless, non-caloric, acceptable sweetener has great potential as an alternative to traditional carbohydrate sweeteners (Nordsiek, 1972; Anon, 1973). An alternative to the organic synthesis of analogues of known compounds is to screen tropical plant material (usually the fruit) for new naturally occurring intense sweetness. Dioscoreophyllum cumminsii, the 'Serendipity Berry' (Family Menispermaceae) is a dioecious, herbaceous perennial species indigenous to tropical West Africa. The plant has long, thin, twining stems and grows in the humid and heavily shaded understory vegetation of closed forests. The aerial vegetation dies back in the end-of-the year dry season and tubers resprout to produce climbing vines at the onset of the rains (around mid-