❯ NEWSMAKERS

Technically any monosaccharide can be

a starting material for allulose created fol-
lowing enzymatic reaction, however Tani
explains that the most efficient commercial
way is through the use of fructose, either

Allulose Emerges as an from starch or sugar sources.

Currently the entire allulose and its de-
rived market size only comprise a few thou-

Alternative Sweetener sand metric tons, with Japan leading, ahead

of the US. So far the only countries that have
approved it as a food ingredient are the
With the market now opening up for allulose in the US, US, Japan, Mexico, Chile, Colombia, South
Yuma Tani, Deputy Research & Development Manager also Korea and other countries that follow US
regulation. Last year, Tate & Lyle entered the
expects that the company will be manufacturing in the US soon. space through the launch of Dolcia Prima
brand allulose, which Tani notes is created

J
apanese modified starch and dietary
fiber company Matsutani Chemical
Industry Co. Ltd. has been involved in
the development of the allulose monosac-
charide, a rare sugar now used as a low
calorie bulk sweetener [0.7 times as sweet
as sucrose and 0.2 calories per gram] since
1999. With approval for the sweetener now
a reality in several markets, the company,
which believes that it is the largest producer
of allulose globally, is looking to expand its
reach. Matsutani offers a D-Allulose prod-
uct, which is marketed as Astraea Allulose.
In 2014, Astraea allulose was granted
GRAS [generally regarded as safe] status by
the US Food & Drug Administration (FDA)
and that has meant that an increasing group
of companies are willing to use the sweet-
ener to replace/reduce the sugar content in
their products.
Matsutani currently operates mostly in
Japan. With the market now opening up for
this ingredient in the US, Yuma Tani, Deputy
Research & Development Manager also ex-
pects that the company will be manufactur-
ing in the US soon. “We are looking as early
as possible, but it depends on where the
demand comes. If they are looking for it, we
can build it quite soon,” he notes.
Tani stresses that while allulose is a new
sweetener to the market, it is one that is
naturally present in sugar. “Allulose is just
like glucose,, fructose and some other sug-
❯ One of the challenges
facing the allulose industry
as a whole is definition.
ars like galactose. Those are sugars that are
available in nature. Basically all humankind
used to consume those sugars from dif-
ferent sources, so it has been consumed
historically,” he says. But while allulose is
naturally present, availability is very low.
“Compared to glucose availability in nature
at 99.9%, allulose only accounts for 0.001%.
This is so small that scientists cannot actu-
ally taste that allulose is there, never mind
finding the functionality,” he explains.
The timeline for the commercialization
of allulose as an ingredient dates back to
1994, when Professor Ken Izumori at Ka-
gawa University in Japan pinpointed an en-
zyme that can convert other sugars into al-
lulose. Izumori also discovered that the Itea
plant, which is native to Japan and some
other Asian regions, was higher in allulose
than regular sources, but even here the
source is still relatively low.
While there are likely untapped oppor-
tunities for deriving allulose naturally, Tani
notes that it will still be very limited in scale
and may take a lot of time to derive such as
extract from that plant.
Matsutani entered a collaboration with
Izumori in 1999 to help with the develop-
ment of the production technology, as well
as the distribution of allulose created fol-
lowing an enzymatic process.
In terms of commercialization, it has now
been 5 years since the company has suc-
ceeded in getting that product to a level
whereby it could be tasted and thereafter
commercialized in the market.
The role of the enzyme discovery is mas-
sive to the market viability for this ingredi-
ent. “Before Professor Izumori’s technology
existed, allulose cost around $1000 per 1g,
so it was very expensive. After he discov-
ered this enzyme, the potential cost went
down to $100 per 1g. Now the cost is much
less at about $10-20 per kg. We are look-
ing further forward down the road at a more
affordable price that a customer would be
able to pay, as well as getting the approval
process for different countries,” he says.
through the use of a different enzyme.
Other suppliers have now also come to
the fore, but Tani is confident that Matsuta-
ni’s know-how in this space offers an advan-
tage, despite the expiration of Izumori’s pat-
ent. “Anyone can make the allulose today.
However, due to the 20 years of studies into
the ingredient and the manufacturing know-
how, we believe that our allulose is the one
that we can feel comfortable about using,”
he says.
One of the challenges facing this new in-
dustry as a whole is definition. In the US, al-
lulose is listed as a “sugar,” which means that
there are obvious concerns about consumer
understanding regarding this ingredient’s
actual calorie content, amid an overarching
low sugar drive.
“The US FDA recently changed the Nutri-
tion Facts Label. What they say about allu-
lose is that it has to be labeled as a ‘carbo-
hydrate’ and ‘sugar.’ Tate & Lyle have argued
that allulose should be exempt from sugar
labeling because it has much less calories,
which confuses the consumer from a labe-
ling standpoint,” says Tani. “But what the
FDA said is that they need additional time
to fully consider the information provided in
the comments and the citizen petition. We
think that in the future it will not have to be
labeled as ‘sugars’ or ‘added sugars,’ but it
may take some time,” he adds.
For now, he admits that this labeling
hurdle is damaging to the marketing of the
product and also requires consumer edu-
cation. “For example, in the case of a sugar
free candy, you may not want to use allulose,
even though it tastes well as a low calorie
concept, as it will be labeled as ‘sugar’.”
In terms of applications, Tani notes that
beverages likely holds the biggest poten-
tial for now. “Allulose has a very good syn-
ergy when combined with high intensity
sweeteners, like stevia or aspartame. Some
people don’t like them because of the taste
difference with regular soda products, but
if you can combine it with allulose, you can
minimize the impact of these afternotes of

44 THE WORLD OF FOOD INGREDIENTS SEPTEMBER 2016

Newsmakers.indd 44 8-9-2016 9:34:11

 the high intensity sweeteners.”
So if you were to combine
stevia with allulose, would you
still be able to achieve a clean
label? “I think so,” says Tani.
“There are still questions to be
answered as to whether allulose
can be labeled as ‘natural.’ But
what we think is that allulose is
available in nature and also in
the same way that it is made by
enzyme conversion so it has a
natural process as sucrose.”
The next stage for the mar-
keting of the product will be
on a complete health platform.
Not only does Astraea reduce
calories in finished products, it
helps to regulate blood sugar
levels and lowering lipid accu-
mulation in the body. “Right now
there are many customers who
want to use pure allulose as they
are looking for low calorie bulk
sweeteners. But what we see is
that the market is opening up,
people will realize that allulose
has a good physiological func-
tion, which is good to address
obesity,” he notes.
“For example, in the future,
maybe blends of allulose and
JUNE 2016 THE WORLD OF FOOD INGREDIENTS
Newsmakers.indd 45
high fructose corn syrup or in-
verted sugars, so you don’t have
any symptoms such as diabe-
tes,” he points out.
Matsutani has applied for a
Food For Specified Health Use
(FOSHU) claim for Astraea Al-
lulose in Japan, due to its effect
on post-prandial blood glucose.
With a health claim attached to
it, the uses could become even
more pertinent and widespread.
He anticipates that it will take
years for the FOSHU claim to
come to market, however.
For now, one of the biggest
challenges will be another regu-
latory one, with EU approval still
apparently some way away yet.
“We hope that we can gain EU
approval in the next couple of
years, but it could take much
longer, depending on the types
of questions that EFSA raise to
us.” The need for novel foods
approval in Europe for allulose
is unlikely, however. “Allulose is
naturally present in sugar. In fact
the average person consumes
about 200mg of allulose per
day, so there is a history of use in
the EU,” he notes. ❚
W Hydrocolloids
Acquires Kerry Plant
Companies: WHI, Kerry
Ingredients: Carrageenan
W Hydrocolloids, Inc. (WHI),
a pioneer in the Philippine sea-
weed industry, has acquired the
seaweed processing facility of
Kerry Food Ingredients Cebu
Inc. (Kerry) located in Barangay
Tabok, Mandaue City, Cebu,
in central Philippines. WHI ac-
quired 100% of the assets used
to process carrageenan chips
from local seaweed. With this
acquisition, WHI now has a total
of three fully-owned seaweed
processing facilities around the
Philippines. ❚
Synergy Launches
Natural Extracts Range
Company: Synergy
Ingredients: Synergy Pure
Synergy Flavors have
launched Synergy Pure, a broad
portfolio of natural essences,
extracts and concentrates, to
the European market. Already
successful in the US, this unique
range of ingredients effectively
maximizes the natural sensory
properties of horticultural prod-
ucts to capture the freshest,
most authentic flavors nature
has to offer. The range includes
distinct profiles including tea,
coffee, fruit and vegetables, bo-
tanicals and vanilla. ❚
45
8-9-2016 9:34:48