Wellness Foods Europe

THE MAGAZINE FOR NUTRITIONAL AND FUNCTIONAL FOODS & BEVERAGES

HealthyChoices@Jungbunzlauer
Erythritol
a healthy choice for bakery products

Reprint from Wellness Foods Europe issue 1/2009

Wellness Foods Europe Erythritol

Erythritol a healthy choice for bakery products

by Ferid Haji, Product Manager Sweeteners Jungbunzlauer International AG, Basel, Switzerland

buzzwords, the number of consumer products offering both the natural and a low/reduced or even free from sugar label was disappoin ting. It has certainly not been due to a lack of interest by consumers or a lack in growth po tential. The main reason for the small number of product launches in this segment is the limi ted number of natural alternatives for sugar to formulate such a product. This is especially true for bakery products. Sugars tasks in baking > Sugar serves nu merous functions in food: it influences sweet ness but also overall taste performance based on its own taste and through its interactions with other ingredients. Being a bulk ingredi ent sweetener it also contributes to texture and subsequently to the technological be haviour of food systems. Looking at bakery products in particular, specific weight and vis cosity of dough and batters are impacted by the amount of sugar present. This influences, amongst other factors, spread and volume, appearance and mouthfeel of the baked good. To summarize, sugar is more than sweetness and any product that is intended to be used in the place of sugar must be able to act as sugar with regards to the mentioned dough/batter and finished product properties. Sugar replacers have been used for a long time. Sugar alcohols and high intensity sweet eners are the most important ones and they have the biggest market share in the non sugar sweeteners product range. The low or zero cal orie content of these alternative sweeteners, provide obvious advantages when replacing sugar, but they also have drawbacks. Polyols can have a flat taste profile in certain applica tions and are sometimes not very well toler ated. High intensity sweeteners do a good job in sweetening, but their inability to provide bulk to food products limits their applicabil ity. Furthermore, both groups lack a key at tribute which is in high demand from todays consumers. Neither of these groups of alterna tive sweeteners can be considered Natural.

Global sugar consumption has been rising steadily over the last few decades, particularly in the industrialised countries. The imminent risks of a high sugar and thus high energy diet, combined with a lack of frequent physical ex ercise are scientifically proven and they are underlined by obesity and overweight statis tics. Reduction of sugar intake in our diet is therefore a valuable and necessary approach to tackle this major threat to human health. Bakery products are not an exception from the prevailing practice: sugar is major con stituent of bakery products: cakes & pastries, cookies, breakfast cereals and morning goods are products we consume daily and which contain large amounts of sugar. The total sug ar content of bakery products is even higher once additions such as icings, creams, syrups and fruit preparations are properly counted. Bakery manufacturers, however, under stand that consumers are increasingly look ing for reduced sugar and reduced calorie pro ducts. Low sugar/low calorie is a top ranked market trend for the bakery sector. The only trend which is seen as equally important in the coming years is product naturalness (1). Staying current with these trends is a must for the bakery industry, but the real challenge is to connect low calorie/sugar and natural in one product. For years, low calorie/low sugar and naturalness have been at opposite ends of the dietary spectrum. Ever since Natural evolved to be one of the top beverage and food

An ideal Natural sugar alternative would combine zero calories with bulk sweetening properties, as well as being easily digested by most consumers. Currently there is only one product which meets all of these criteria: The novel sugar alcohol erythritol. Erythritol has been approved as food addi tive in Europe in 2006 (2), after it has been ap proved in Japan and the USA for a number of years. Erythritol is a naturally occurring sugar alcohol (polyol) and has just recently been de clared as a zero calorie sweetener, by the Eu ropean Union. Thus it is the only calorie free, natural sweetener available. Zero calories > By definition in the European Union all sugar alcohols like sorbitol, malti tol etc. must be labelled with a caloric val ue of 2.4 kcal/g. Since all sugar alcohols have a reduced digestibility, they are not metabo lised like typical carbohydrates. Their typi cal digestion pattern yields approx. 2.4 kcal/ g. Erythritol is the only sugar alcohol that is not assigned this higher caloric value. There is evidence to prove that erythritol is not me tabolised by the human body at all and that the highest potential caloric contribution is < 0.2 kcal/g (3). The explanation for this unique feature is the small size of the erythritol mol ecule. 122 gram/mole is the lowest molecu lar weight of all polyols and only about 1/3 of the molecular weight of sucrose (sugar). The molecular weight, of this 4 carbon struc ture allows for quick absorption in the upper digestive tract. Once in the bloodstream it is flushed to the kidneys where it is filtered and excreted via the urinary tract. Tracking of the route that erythritol takes through the body confirms that 80 % of ingested erythritol is excreted within 24 h. The remaining eryth ritol is barely metabolised. Less than 5% of erythritol is converted to energy, which cor responds to 0.2 kcal/g. For the experts in the Scientific Committee of Food (SCF) this in formation was sufficient to confirm the zero calorie status, which is the same caloric lev

el that erythritol has in Japan. This statement has been adopted by the European Commis sion in October 2008 and after a transitional period of 12 months erythritol can be labelled with zero calories on food products. Table 1: Comparison of erythritol, sorbitol and sugar

Erythritol is naturally occurring in food prod ucts like grapes, soy sauce, wine, honey and even cheese. This means that consumers are used to it and have been consuming erythritol as part of their diet for many years. However, the large scale production of erythritol by ex traction from these foods is not economically feasible. Instead, a natural fermentation pro cess is used where natural yeast is employed to convert a simple carbohydrate source such as glucose into erythritol. This process is simi lar to what is used to produce wine and beer. It is this fermentation step that is the basis to the natural character of erythritol. No other polyol is manufactured through such a natu ral process, but rather from a purely chemical process, catalytical hydrogenation. Erythritol production does not require the use of en zymes or catalysts and there is no chemical modification of the end product erythritol. Though there is no legal definition for nat ural the criteria used by Jungbunzlauer to define its erythritol production are congru ent with the market expectations for a nat ural product; meaning natural processes and raw materials, no GMO technology, no chem ical synthesis or alteration and no unnecessary processing. Nutritional properties > The small molecular size of erythritol brings additional and high ly welcome benefits for food manufacturers and consumers: a zero glycemic index and the highest digestive tolerance of all polyols.

Wellness Foods Europe Erythritol

The nutritional value of carbohydrates has been the subject of great debate for many years. However, there remains an awareness of the importance of the glycemic index (GI) of food products. A substances GI is a mea sure of its impact on the bodys blood sugar level. Glucose is used as a reference point with a GI of 100, while very high GI carbohydrates such as maltodextrin rank even higher. High GI carbohydrates enter the bloodstream very quickly, and thus cause a rapid rise and sud den drop in blood sugar and insulin levels. Low GI substances, on the other hand, do not have such an impact on blood glucose levels. Wide fluctuations in blood sugar levels can cause hunger pangs in the short term, and can in the long term lead to type2 diabetes. This is why the WHO (World Health Organi zation) strongly recommends that consumers follow a low GI diet in order to avoid obesity and diabetes. Erythritol has a GI of virtually zero, which means that it does not have any impact on blood sugar levels and does not initiate any insulinemic response. In fact, almost 80 per cent of erythritol is excreted via the kidneys within the first 24 hours after ingestion. This means that it is scarcely metabolized at all in the human body, and that no glucose is gener ated and thus no insulin which helps balance blood sugar levels is released. Erythritol can therefore improve the nutritional profile of end products targeting health conscious con sumers. Also for people with diabetes, who need to monitor their glycemic load closely, erythritol opens up a world of indulgent foods that wont knock their blood glucose levels out of balance (4, 5). Digestive tolerance > While all other polyols have the distinct disadvantage of causing di gestive distress, erythritol is well tolerated. Scientific studies show that at typical con sumption levels, erythritol has no laxative ef fect. The key factor in erythritols high level of digestive tolerance is its small molecular

size. This allows it to be absorbed quickly in the upper digestive tract, so that very small amounts reach the lower tract where degra dation of polyols and osmotic effects would normally cause gastric distress (5). Similar to the exception erythritol has been assigned by the European decision makers for the calorie labelling it is worked on getting an exception for the polyol laxative warning as well. Cur rently, when more than 10 % of polyol (single or in a blend, incl. erythritol) is present in a finished product, the wellknown warning on potential laxative effect needs to be added to the packaging. Taste comes first > Health has become an im portant factor in any food products success. However, the main influence on sustainable market acceptance has always been the taste profile of a food. The challenge for sugar re placed products is to lower calories, while mimicking sugars functional properties and ultimately to provide a great sugar taste at the same time. Erythritol has a clean sweet taste and a sensory profile very similar to that of su crose. With a sweetening power of about 70 percent of sucrose, it is sweeter than most oth er polyols. In a large number of trials Jung bunzlauers application specialists have prov en that it is feasible to unite the pleasure of a

Wellness Foods Europe Erythritol

greattasting sweet treats with reduced calo ries and convincing textural qualities. Healthier choice for muffins > Muffins are very versatile sweet bakery goods. Countless versions exist with inclusion of fruits, nuts berries, chocolate etc. A muffin is the perfect application to highlight the benefits erythritol can bring to a bakery products. Table 2: Recipe of plain muffin
[g] Granulated sugar Fructose Shortening Flour Whole egg powder GdL (GluconodeltaLactone) Skimmed milk powder Baking soda Salt or sub4salt Water Xanthan Gum

calories from sugar. The effective reduction in this area is 49 %. The conclusion is that eryth ritol infact is a useful agent to reduce calo ries but there is certainly more effort required on the fat content to get to a reduced calorie claim by reducing calories more than 30 %. Blends with other sweeteners > Due to the lower sweetening power of erythritol the use of another sweetener is advisable with de creasing sugar levels. However, the advan tages of such blends usually go beyond effects on sweetness. It is common knowledge that a wellbalanced sweetener blend can come even closer to replicating sugar than a single sweet ener, and various tests have been carried out in this area, with interesting results. Erythri tol has been found to be ideal for both blend ing with High Intensity Sweeteners (HIS) and other bulk sweeteners. Blends with Aspartame and Acesulfame K are characterised by strong synergies on resulting sweetness and aftertaste profile. Adding erythritol to polyols like malt itol reduces the risk of digestive stress and sig nificantly improves the overall taste profile. For a completely natural blend, fructose has been proven to be a very good blending part ner for erythritol. Both ingredients come from natural sources and since fructose has a sweet ness that is about 20 % higher compared to sugar a blend of erythritol and fructose has a more balanced sweetness. Used in a 50 : 50 ratio erythritol and fruc tose were used to replace the sugar in the muf fin completely and to create a naturally sweet ened muffin without use of sugar. The result was a muffin that could not be differentiated from the original sugar muffin in the appear ance. It had an appealing colour, a nicely shaped dome and a similar opening on top. The muffin was as elastic as the sugar original and had the same pleasant smell. The muf fin offered a sweetness that matched the sug ar type and provided also a taste level that was very close to the original. The shelf life of the muffin was satisfying: Stored in a box

130 96 240 18 4.9 18 2.3 2 198 0.73

A plain muffin with 21 % sugar content was used as the reference recipe. A number of op tions for sugar replacement were realised in the tests such as a 50 % reduction of sugar with erythritol, a total sugar replacement through a blend of erythritol and fructose and as well a blend of erythritol and polydextrose. A 50 % reduction of sugar with erythritol yields a muffin that is very similar to the full sugar original: At a slightly reduced sweet ness the overall taste profile is equal to the full sugar muffin. The texture and the appear ance of the muffins are also very similar. The muffin yields a calorie reduction of approxi mately 12 %. The reduction is limited due to the fact that a large part of the muffin calories are contributed by the fat/shortening used and the flour. This needs to be borne in mind when looking at the effective savings. The picture gets clearer once the view is focussed solely on

Erythritol Wellness Foods Europe

in a cool and dry place it still tasted fresh and moist after 7 days. The effective calorie reduc tion is 12 %. Since fructose has the same en ergy content as sugar there was no further re duction of calories compared to sugar. The final recipe used a blend of erythritol and polydextrose. Polydextrose is a bulking agent with almost negligible sweetness: less than 10 % compared to sugar. The advan tage of using polydextrose is to get a second bulking agent with a low calorie content. Re placing all sugar by erythritol is not advis able. Due to the lower solubility the erythritol usage level is limited. Exceeding a 66 % sugar replacement still leads to a tasty muffin, but after some storage time with loss of humidity, the muffin gets harder due to crystallisation of erythritol. For further reduction of the sug ar calories polydextrose is ideal since it offers on 1 kcal/gram. The missing sweetness can be boosted by addition of Acesulfame K. The resulting muffin had a slightly lower volume than the previous trials; however, colour and dome were similar. The crumb structure was soft and elastic. The taste dif fered slightly from the control: The addition of polydextrose seemed to cause a slight loss of freshness over the period of some days but still yielded are satisfying indulgence factor. The compensation of sweetness with Acesul fame K was a success: There was no typical aftertaste of the high intense sweetener due to the blending with erythritol. The calorie re duction achieved was 21 % on the complete recipe and 97 % on sugar calories. This muf fin may carry both a no added sugar claim and a low sugar nutritional claim since the remaining sugar content is less than 5 %. One major observation made in the baking trials is that erythritol sweetened muffins re quire a lower baking temperature. Regular baking temperatures may cause the muffins to lose moisture quickly and can lead to very brown muffin tops. The described baking trials show that ap pealing and tasty bakery products can be for

mulated by using the novel bulk sweetener erythritol. Partial and complete sugar replace ment must no longer lead to significant defi ciency in taste, texture and digestibility. The products developed provide sensible calo rie reduction and are eligible to nutritional claims. The successful introduction of erythri tol is not limited to muffin products: It can be transferred to other bakery products and in gredients rich in sugar such as cakes, torts and even fruit preparation and cream fillings. Erythritol is part of Jungbunzlauers HealthyChoices range. This range of health promoting ingredients also includes several high purity organic mineral salts as well as the new patentpending salt substitute sub4salt and addresses the top health trends: mineral fortification, sugar replacement and salt sub stitution. (1) Source: Business Insights Industry Opinion Survey (2) Directive 2006/52/EC of the European Parliament and of the council amending Di rective 95/2/EC on food additives other than colours and sweeteners and Directive 94/35/ EC on sweeteners for use in foodstuffs (3) Bornet F.R.J et al., Plasma and urine kinetics of erythritol after oral ingestion by healthy humans, Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology, 1996a, 24 (2, Part 2), S280 S285 (4) Arrigoni et al., Human gut microbiota does not ferment erythritol British Journal of Nutrition, 2005, 94, pp643646 (5) Livesay G., Tolerance of lowdigestible carbohydrates: a general view, British Journal of Nutrition (2001), 85, Suppl. 1, S7S16

The Author: Ferid Haji, Product Manager Sweeteners, Jungbunzlauer International AG St. Alban-Vorstadt 90, CH-4052 Basel, Switzerland Phone: +41 61 2955 100, Fax: +41 61 2955 266 E-mail: HealthyChoices@Jungbunzlauer.com www.jungbunzlauer.com