IDM | Ingredients Chasing the gold standard Putting sugar reduced yoghurt with oligofructose to the taste test When reducing the sugar content of yoghurt, the main hurdles are retaining the sweetness and body associated with sugar whilst reducing its use 36 · 10 2016 | international-dairy.com The sugar content of food and beverage products regularly triggers public debate. The main point of concern is the high energy load of processed foods that contain added sugars for taste or technical reasons. “Is this really necessary?” is a frequently asked question, particularly from consumer advocate groups and health-conscious consumers. Sugar- and calorie-reduced products have been available for quite some time; but, they often score badly in meeting consumer expectations regarding taste. Experts at the BENEOTechnology Center have conducted trials on fruit yoghurt to investigate the opportunities that the natural dietary fibre oligofructose provides for sugar reduction. We talked to Rudy Wouters, Vice President, BENEO-Technology Center, about the results. IDM: What are the main sugar reduction challenges in a fruit yoghurt? Rudy Wouters: As with any product reformulation that involves reducing or removing sugar, the main hurdles are retaining the sweetness and body associated with sugar whilst reducing its use. Simply replacing the sweetness is not a big issue. This can be done with high intensity sweeteners. That’s not a complete solution, though, important aspects such as mouthfeel and the final sweetness profile also have to be addressed and correlated with sugar – the gold standard in terms of sweetness. It takes a combination of all these factors to deliver a sweet and full-bodied taste sensation. IDM: Is there a perfect solution? © Christian Jung – Fotolia.com
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