Suiker in perspectief editie 49 | september 2020

|17 Suiker in perspectief, september 2020 No magic bullet to replace sugar Energy reduction Probably the biggest issue regarding sugar replace- ment originates from insignificant changes in the energy content of products. Cooper: “Except for soft drinks, reformulation to reduce energy can be coun- ter-productive: if sugar is taken out, something else must go in. If fat (with 9 kcal/gram) is the replacer of sugars (with 4 kcal/gram), the energy content per 100 gram will increase. Many people are unaware that fat contains more than twice the number of calories than sugar.” Major sources of added sugar In the Netherlands sugar & sweets (28%), non-alcoho- lic beverages (24%) and cakes & pastries (19%) are the most important sources of added sugar. Cooper: “In beverages, the sweetness of the sugars can be readily replaced with artificial sweeteners, while the bulk (mass) of the sugars is replaced by water, thus delive- ring a calorie reduction.” The other two major sources of added sugar in the Netherlands are more complex products. According to Cooper “polyols, e.g. sorbitol, xylitol, maltitol, can be used to replace sugar in chewing gums and other food products. However, polyols are not broken down in the gut of the human body and at high intake will result in laxation and eventually diarrhoea.” It is tempting to focus the reformulation on the most important sources of added sugar. Cooper, however, expects that food technolo- gists may choose the products that are relatively easy to reformulate and he points out that there is still a lot of research needed to optimize the functions of ingredients in food products to deliver a truly effective reformulation with a significant calorie reduction No magic bullet Cooper: “Many people see product reformulation as a miracle cure to lower their energy intake, but unfor- tunately there is no magic bullet that delivers the same functionalities as sugars in food products and a reduction in calories at the same time.” Voedingsmiddel Functie van de suikers Frisdranken Zoetheid, mondgevoel en smaakverbetering Snoepgoed Zoetheid, volume, conserveer- middel, vochtigheid, kleur- en smaakvorming, oplosbaarheid, smaakafgifte en kristalvorming Brood en gebak Zoetheid, volume, vochtigheid, kleur- en smaakvorming, textuur, glazuur en fermentatie Ontbijtgranen Zoetheid, volume, kleur- en smaakvorming, textuur en structuurvorming Jam Zoetheid, volume, smaak- verbetering, kleur- en smaak- vorming, en conserveermiddel, synergie met andere ingrediënten IJs Zoetheid, volume, smaakverbetering, verlagen van het vriespunt en mondgevoel Tabel 2: De verschillende functies van suikers in voedingsmiddelen. Bron: J. Cooper. Product reformulation - Can sugar be replaced in foods? International sugar journal 2012, vol. 114, no. 1365