Consumer Perception of Sweeteners in Yogurt.

Consumers are interested in products with reduced sugar, a trend which has been attributed to consumers associating high-sugar foods with obesity, diabetes, heart disease and high blood pressure. The objective of this study was to evaluate consumer perception of sugar reduction in yogurt - both conceptually and for liking of actual products. An online survey (n = 1290) was conducted to evaluate consumer perception of sweeteners available in commercial yogurts. Participants who purchased yogurt at least once in the past 3 mo completed a series of exercises that involved demographics, agreement, Kano, and Maximum Difference (MaxDiff) scaling questions. Subsequently, vanilla 1% milkfat yogurts sweetened with sucrose were formulated to iso-sweet taste intensity with either stevia, allulose, a blend of sucrose and honey or a blend of sucrose, stevia and allulose using magnitude estimate scaling followed by paired comparison tests with consumers (n = 40). A consumer acceptance test (n = 229) was then conducted using the 5 vanilla yogurts. Half of the consumers (n = 115) were primed with the specific yogurt sweetener and the other half were not. Survey and acceptance test data were evaluated by univariate and multivariate analyses. Conceptually, consumers preferred the claim "naturally sweetened" over a reduced sugar claim in yogurt (P < 0.05). Honey was preferred over other sweeteners, followed by agave nectar and cane sugar (P < 0.05). Allulose was the least preferred sweetener option conceptually (P < 0.05). Priming with sweetener type positively impacted consumer acceptance, regardless of sweetener (P < 0.05). When yogurts were tasted, yogurts sweetened with sucrose were the most preferred regardless of priming (P < 0.05). Yogurts sweetened with allulose or a blend of allulose, stevia, and sucrose received higher liking scores than yogurts with stevia (P < 0.05), suggesting that allulose can assist with sugar reduction in yogurt. Consumers are interested in healthy yogurts that are naturally sweetened, but flavor/taste remains the driving force for liking and purchase. The use of a natural non-nutritive sweetener that delivers the sensory experience of sucrose is ultimately more important than familiarity with the actual sweetener.

Effect of sugar reduction on sensory characteristics of dried fish mince product.

BACKGROUND: Excessive sugar consumption has been linked to type 2 diabetes, obesity and other diseases. Therefore, it is indispensable to reduce sugar of food. However, the sensory characteristics of food are affected after sugar reduction (SR). Currently, SR has been reported in drinks, jams, candies, and other fruit related or sweet foods; but salty or protein related foods have not been explored, therefore there is a big gap that needs to be filled. RESULTS: Sensory scores of initial sweetness and sweetness reduced by 0.26 and 0.12 in 10% SR dried fish mince product compared with control, and there was a small difference between 25% SR (3.33) and 40% SR (3.09) samples. It also showed that 10% SR sample had a small reduction in sweetness value and free sugar content by 3.5% (0.42/11.9) and 7.8% (2.12/27.06) compared with control; while values in 25% SR sample decreased sharply but were not much different from 40% SR sample. Electronic nose results showed that SR had a small effect on odor. Texture analysis showed that texture properties of 25% SR sample were significantly different from control. CONCLUSIONS: Dried fish mince product with below 10% SR had a small difference on the sensory characteristics and there was a big change when SR was more than 20%. Dried fish mince product with 25% SR and 40% SR had no significant difference. SR had a small effect on odor, but had a great effect on texture properties, especially over 20% SR. © 2023 Society of Chemical Industry.

Enhancement effect of odor and multi-sensory superposition on sweetness.

The impact of sugary foods on public health has contributed to the development of low-sugar and sugar-substituted products, and sugar reduction has become a major challenge for the food industry. There is growing empirical evidence that odor can enhance the perception of sweetness without increasing the caloric load. This current review summarizes the researches on odor-induced sweetness enhancement published in recent years and discusses the mechanisms and influencing factors of odor-sweetness interactions. In addition, by combing existing studies, this paper also summarizes the research methods and strategies to investigate odor-induced sweetness enhancement. Finally, the feasibility of synergistic enhancement of sweetness through the superposition of odor with other senses (texture, visual, etc.) is also discussed and analyzed. In conclusion, odor-induced sweetness enhancement may present an alternative or complementary approach for developing foods with less sugar.

Nondairy food applications of whey and milk permeates: Direct and indirect uses.

Permeates are generated in the dairy industry as byproducts from the production of high-protein products (e.g., whey or milk protein isolates and concentrates). Traditionally, permeate was disposed of as waste or used in animal feed, but with the recent move toward a "zero waste" economy, these streams are being recognized for their potential use as ingredients, or as raw materials for the production of value-added products. Permeates can be added directly into foods such as baked goods, meats, and soups, for use as sucrose or sodium replacers, or can be used in the production of prebiotic drinks or sports beverages. In-direct applications generally utilize the lactose present in permeate for the production of higher value lactose derivatives, such as lactic acid, or prebiotic carbohydrates such as lactulose. However, the impurities present, short shelf life, and difficulty handling these streams can present challenges for manufacturers and hinder the efficiency of downstream processes, especially compared to pure lactose solutions. In addition, the majority of these applications are still in the research stage and the economic feasibility of each application still needs to be investigated. This review will discuss the wide variety of nondairy, food-based applications of milk and whey permeates, with particular focus on the advantages and disadvantages associated with each application and the suitability of different permeate types (i.e., milk, acid, or sweet whey).

Cost-effectiveness of dental caries prevention strategies in South African schools.

BACKGROUND: In South Africa, an estimated 85% of the population relies on the public sector for oral health services. With poor infrastructure and inadequate personnel, over 80% of children with dental caries remain untreated. To reduce this burden of disease, one key goal is to promote good oral health and address oral diseases through prevention, screening, and treatment among children. While all policies have been proven to be effective in the control and prevention of dental caries, it is unclear which of those strategies provide value for money. This study evaluated five caries preventative strategies in terms of the cost and benefits among South African school children. METHODS: The study uses a hypothetical South African population of school aged learners aged 5-15. The context and insights of the strategies utilized at the schools were informed by data from both grey and published literature. Using Markov modeling techniques, we conducted a cost-effectiveness analysis of Acidulated Phosphate Fluoride (APF) application, atraumatic restorative treatment (ART), sugar-reduction and fissure sealants. Markov model was used to depict the movement of a hypothetical patient cohort between different health states over time. We assessed both health outcomes and costs of various interventions. The health outcome metric was measured as the number of Decayed, Missing, Filled Tooth (DMFT). The net monetary benefit was then used to determine which intervention was most cost-effective. RESULTS: The results showed that school-based caries prevention strategies are cost-effective compared to the status quo of doing nothing. The average cost per learner over the 10-year period ranged from ZAR4380 to approx. ZAR7300 for the interventions considered. The total costs (including screening) associated with the interventions and health outcome (DMFT averted) were: sugar reduction (ZAR91,380, DFMT: 63,762), APF-Gel (ZAR54 million, DMFT: 42,010), tooth brushing (ZAR72.8 million, DMFT: 74,018), fissure sealant (ZAR44.63 million, DMFT: 100,024), and ART (ZAR45 million, DMFT: 144,035). The net monetary benefits achieved for APF-Gel, sugar reduction, tooth brushing, fissure sealant and ART programs were ZAR1.56, ZAR2.45, ZAR2.78, ZAR3.81, and ZAR5.55 billion, respectively. CONCLUSION: Based on the net monetary benefit, ART, fissure sealant and sugar-reduction appear to be the most cost-effective strategies for preventing caries in South Africa. In a resource-scarce setting such as South Africa, where there is no fluoridation of drinking water, this analysis can inform decisions about service packages for oral health.

Seven-year trends in the availability, sugar content and serve size of single-serve non-alcoholic beverages in New Zealand: 2013-2019.

OBJECTIVE: To assess trends in relative availability, sugar content and serve size of ready-to-drink non-alcoholic beverages available for sale in supermarkets from 2013 to 2019. DESIGN: Repeat cross-sectional surveys. Data on single-serve beverages to be consumed in one sitting were obtained from an updated brand-specific food composition database. Trends in beverages availability and proportions with serve size ≤ 250 ml were assessed by χ2 tests. Sugar content trends were examined using linear regressions. The proportion of beverages exceeding the sugar threshold of the United Kingdom Soft Drinks Industry Levy (SDIL) was assessed. SETTING: New Zealand. RESULTS: From 2013 to 2019, there was (i) an increase in the availability of sugar-free/low-sugar beverages (n 25 (8·4 %) to n 75 (19·1 %); P < 0·001) and craft sugar-sweetened soft drinks (n 11 (3·7 %) to n 36 (9·2 %); P < 0·001), and a decrease in availability of fruit/vegetable juices/drinks (n 94 (31·8 %) to n 75 (19·4 %); P < 0·001); (ii) small decreases in sugar content (mean g/100 ml) of sugar-sweetened soft drinks (3·03; 95 % CI 3·77, 2·29); fruit/vegetable juices/drinks (1·08; 95 % CI 2·14, 0·01) and energy drinks (0·98; 95 % CI 1·63, 0·32) and (iii) slight reduction in the proportion of beverages with serve size ≤ 250 ml (21·6 to 18·9 %; P < 0·001). In 2019, most beverages were sugar-sweetened or had naturally occurring sugars (79·1 %) and serve size > 250 ml (81·1 %) and most sugar-sweetened beverages exceeded the SDIL lower benchmark (72·9 %). CONCLUSIONS: Most single-serve beverages available for sale in 2019 were sugary drinks with high sugar content and large serve sizes; therefore, changes made across the years were not meaningful for population's health.

Reactance to Social Authority in a Sugar Reduction Informational Video: Web-Based Randomized Controlled Trial of 4013 Participants.

BACKGROUND: Short and animated story-based (SAS) videos can be an effective strategy for promoting health messages. However, health promotion strategies often motivate the rejection of health messages, a phenomenon known as reactance. In this study, we examine whether the child narrator of a SAS video (perceived as nonthreatening, with low social authority) minimizes reactance to a health message about the consumption of added sugars. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to determine whether our SAS intervention video attenuates reactance to the sugar message when compared with a content placebo video (a health message about sunscreen) and a placebo video (a nonhealth message about earthquakes) and determine if the child narrator is more effective at reducing reactance to the sugar message when compared with the mother narrator (equivalent social authority to target audience) or family physician narrator (high social authority) of the same SAS video. METHODS: This is a web-based randomized controlled trial comparing an intervention video about sugar reduction narrated by a child, the child's mother, or the family physician with a content placebo video about sunscreen use and a placebo video about earthquakes. The primary end points are differences in the antecedents to reactance (proneness to reactance, threat level of the message), its components (anger and negative cognition), and outcomes (source appraisal and attitude). We performed analysis of variance on data collected (N=4013) from participants aged 18 to 59 years who speak English and reside in the United Kingdom. RESULTS: Between December 9 and December 11, 2020, we recruited 38.62% (1550/4013) men, 60.85% (2442/4013) women, and 0.52% (21/4013) others for our study. We found a strong causal relationship between the persuasiveness of the content promoted by the videos and the components of reactance. Compared with the placebo (mean 1.56, SD 0.63) and content placebo (mean 1.76, SD 0.69) videos, the intervention videos (mean 1.99, SD 0.83) aroused higher levels of reactance to the message content (P<.001). We found no evidence that the child narrator (mean 1.99, SD 0.87) attenuated reactance to the sugar reduction message when compared with the physician (mean 1.95, SD 0.79; P=.77) and mother (mean 2.03, SD 0.83; P=.93). In addition, the physician was perceived as more qualified, reliable, and having more expertise than the child (P<.001) and mother (P<.001) narrators. CONCLUSIONS: Although children may be perceived as nonthreatening messengers, we found no evidence that a child narrator attenuated reactance to a SAS video about sugar consumption when compared with a physician. Furthermore, our intervention videos, with well-intended goals toward audience health awareness, aroused higher levels of reactance when compared with the placebo videos. Our results highlight the challenges in developing effective interventions to promote persuasive health messages. TRIAL REGISTRATION: German Clinical Trials Registry DRKS00022340; https://tinyurl.com/mr8dfena. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID): RR2-10.2196/25343.

Is sugar extracted from plants less healthy than sugar consumed within plant tissues? The sugar anomaly.

There are dilemmas in the minds of consumers with respect to sugar consumption - they would like to consume sugars for sweetness, but in a healthy (and perhaps guilt free!) way. In a sense, consumers believe that if sugar does not appear as an ingredient on the product label, but is intrinsic in the food (and will appear as a nutrient), it is 'good'. As an ingredient, however, it is viewed as a 'bad chemical' associated with tooth decay and obesity. The reality is that unless processing induced modifications have occurred, the sugar molecule within a plant tissue is the same molecule structure as present in purified sugar. The same calorific value. However, there is an argument that humans eat too refined food and that if sugars were eaten in their natural context (e.g. within a fruit), their presence and concentration would be in harmony (where different nutrients complement and balance the sugar concentration) with the human body. This reflects the process of eating, satiety, presence of other nutrients (including water) and the associated impact of the indigestible components of plant foods on the transit/nutrient bioavailability control and thus benefits through the gut. The authors explore these issues in this article and seek to provide a scientific basis to different sides of the argument - sugar is good or bad depending on how (in which format and how much/how concentrated) it is consumed. More importantly perhaps, how should sugar consumption - an important nutrient - be managed to optimize the benefits but reduce the disadvantages? © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry.

Reductions in sugar sales from soft drinks in the UK from 2015 to 2018.

BACKGROUND: The consumption of free sugars in the UK is more than double the guideline intake for adults and close to triple for children, with soft drinks representing a significant proportion. The aim of this study was to assess how individual soft drink companies and consumers have responded to calls to reduce sugar consumption, including the soft drink industry levy (SDIL), between 2015 and 2018. METHODS: This was an annual cross-sectional study using nutrient composition data of 7377 products collected online, paired with volume sales data for 195 brands offered by 57 companies. The main outcome measures were sales volume, sugar content and volume of sugars sold by company and category, expressed in total and per capita per day terms. RESULTS: Between 2015 and 2018, the volume of sugars sold per capita per day from soft drinks declined by 30%, equivalent to a reduction of 4.6 g per capita per day. The sales-weighted mean sugar content of soft drinks fell from 4.4 g/100 ml in 2015 to 2.9 g/100 ml in 2018. The total volume sales of soft drinks that are subject to the SDIL (i.e. contain more than 5 g/100 ml of sugar) fell by 50%, while volume sales of low- and zero-sugar (< 5 g/100 ml) drinks rose by 40%. CONCLUSION: Action by the soft drinks industry to reduce sugar in products and change their product portfolios, coupled with changes in consumer purchasing, has led to a significant reduction in the total volume and per capita sales of sugars sold in soft drinks in the UK. The rate of change accelerated between 2017 and 2018, which also implies that the implementation of the SDIL acted as an extra incentive for companies to reformulate above and beyond what was already being done as part of voluntary commitments to reformulation, or changes in sales driven by consumer preferences.

Recent advances in the biotechnological production of erythritol and mannitol.

Dietary habits that include an excess of added sugars have been strongly associated with an increased risk of obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and tooth decay. With this association in view, modern food systems aim to replace added sugars with low calorie sweeteners, such as polyols. Polyols are generally not carcinogenic and do not trigger a glycemic response. Furthermore, owing to the absence of the carbonyl group, they are more stable compared to monosaccharides and do not participate in Maillard reactions. As such, since polyols are stable at high temperatures, and they do not brown or caramelize when heated. Therefore, polyols are widely used in the diets of hypocaloric and diabetic patients, as well as other specific cases where controlled caloric intake is required. In recent years, erythritol and mannitol have gained increased importance, especially in the food and pharmaceutical industries. In these areas, research efforts have been made to improve the productivity and yield of the two polyols, relying on biotechnological manufacturing methods. The present review highlights the recent advances in the biotechnological production of erythritol and mannitol and summarizes the benefits of using the two polyols in the food and pharmaceutical industries.

Reformulation of sugar contents in Canadian prepackaged foods and beverages between 2013 and 2017 and resultant changes in nutritional composition of products with sugar reductions.

OBJECTIVE: To quantify total sugar reformulation in Canadian prepackaged foods and beverages between 2013 and 2017 and identify changes in the nutritional composition of the foods and beverages reformulated to be lower in total sugar. DESIGN: Longitudinal examination of foods and beverages present in both 2013 and 2017 collections of the University of Toronto's Food Label Information Program database (n 6628 matched products). The proportion of products with changes in sugar levels was determined. Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used to examine changes in sugar levels overall for products lower or higher in sugar and changes in nutrient composition for products lower in sugar. SETTING: Largest grocery retailers by market share in Canada. PARTICIPANTS: Canadian prepackaged foods and beverages. RESULTS: The majority (76·6 %) of products had no change in total sugar content, 12·4 % were reformulated to be lower in sugar and 11·0 % were higher in sugar. A median sugar reduction of 19·0 % (1·6 g) was seen among products lower in sugar which was offset by a median 18·0 % (1·5 g) increase among products higher in sugar. Overall, median levels of energies and other nutrients stayed the same or decreased among products reformulated to be lower in sugar, the exception was for starch, which increased. CONCLUSIONS: Limited progress was made to reformulate foods and beverages to be lower in total sugar between 2013 and 2017. Results from this study identify areas in the food supply where attention may be needed to avoid unintended consequences of sugar-focused reformulation in terms of overall nutritional composition.

I was truly addicted to sugar: A consumer-focused classification system of behaviour change strategies for sugar reduction.

The reduction of free sugars has been identified as a priority issue internationally. A range of public health initiatives have been recommended, including the provision of information and support for sugar reduction. To inform these approaches, it is important to know what people actually do in real world settings to reduce their consumption. This study documents and defines the range of consumer-based behaviour change strategies for sugar reduction. A total of 1145 strategies were extracted from 47 internet sources (i.e., consumer, popular and professional). Using a pragmatic content analysis, hundreds of strategies were organized into 25 discrete categories of strategies. Categories were grouped into the Rubicon Model of Action Phases and classified as pre-decisional (i.e., decisional balance, feedback, realisation, seek knowledge and information), post-decisional (i.e., action planning, coping planning, set goal intention, sugar guidelines) and actional phase. Actional strategies were the most prolific and included avoidance, consumption control, consumption planning, environmental restructuring, healthy eating focus, maintain readiness, professional support, refocusing, self-monitoring, social support, substance substitution, tapering, address underlying issues, urge management, well-being and withdrawal management. There was one post-actional strategy which was associated with self-evaluation (i.e., reviewing a change attempt in order to plan for the future). Four categories of strategies differed according to the source. Substance substitution was substantially less frequently discussed by consumers than professionals and few professional sites acknowledged or advised strategies to manage the struggle of maintaining readiness following a change attempt. Hundreds of individual strategies are discussed or promoted in online settings, and more information is needed on the effectiveness of these self-initiated approaches.

Application of mannitol producing Leuconostoc citreum TR116 to reduce sugar content of barley, oat and wheat malt-based worts.

Achieving a high monosaccharide composition in malt wort is instrumental to achieve successful lactic acid bacteria fermentation of malt based beverages. The conversion of monosaccharides to alternative metabolites such as the sweet polyol, mannitol with heterofermentative strains presents a novel approach for sugar reduction and to compensate for the loss of sweetness. This work outlines the application of an adopted mashing regimen with the addition of exogenous enzymes to produce wort with high fructose content which can be applied to different malted grain types with consistently efficacious monosaccharide production for bacterial fermentation. The so produced worts are then fermented with Leuconostoc citreum TR116 a mannitol hyper-producer. Malted barley, oat and wheat were mashed to stimulate protein degradation and release of free amino acids along with the enzymatic conversion of starch to fermentable sugars. Amyloglucosidase and glucose isomerase treatment converted di- and oligo-saccharides to glucose and provided a moderate fructose concentration in malt worts which was consistent across the three cereals. Fructose was completely depleted during fermentation with Lc. Citreum TR116 and converted to mannitol with high efficiency (>90%) while overall sugar reduction was >25% in all malt worts. Differences in amino acid composition of malt worts did not significantly affect growth of Lc. Citreum TR116 but did affect the formation of the aroma compounds diacetyl and isoamyl alcohol. Organic acid production and acidification of wort was similar across cereal substrates and acetic acid formation was linked to yield of mannitol. The results suggest that differences in amino acid and fructose content of malt worts considerably change metabolite formation during fermentation with Lc. Citreum TR116, a mannitol hyper-producer. This work gives new insight into the development of consumer acceptable malt based beverages which will provide further options for the health conscious and diabetic consumer, an important step in the age of sugar overconsumption.

Perceived healthiness of food items and the traffic light front of pack nutrition labelling: choice-based conjoint analysis and cross-sectional survey.

BACKGROUND: Although traffic light labelling (TLL) is designed to aid the selection of healthier choices, consumers often have to make trade-offs between (un)desirable attributes. With the current emphasis of public health on sugar reduction, the present study aimed to investigate the relative influence of sugar on the perceived healthiness of products. METHODS: A choice-based conjoint analysis (CBC) survey was designed to assess the relative importance of the macronutrients commonly used in TLL, as well as the rescaled utilities of three attribute levels (red, amber and green), which involved 858 participants aged ≥18 years, who were recruited from the general population of Nottingham. An additional cross-sectional online survey was completed by another 901 participants to assess public knowledge about the intake recommendations underpinning the TLL. RESULTS: Usable data for CBC analysis showed that, when deciding upon the healthiness of items, sugar was significantly the most important macronutrient (mean 0.34, 95% confidence interval = 0.32-0.35) among the 641 participants. Red labelling was significantly more influential than green across macronutrients. In the substudy, 13.3% of participants correctly identify the maximum recommended intake of free sugars. Moreover, 42.8% of the total sample could not identify whether the sugar information on TLL refers to the total or free sugar content. CONCLUSIONS: Despite a lack of knowledge about the recommendations underpinning the TLL criteria, decisions made by participants concerning the healthfulness of food products were significantly influenced by sugar content. TLL appears to guide consumer beliefs in the absence of deep knowledge. The dominance of sugar in decision making is unsurprising in the current public health climate.

Role of sweeteners on temporality and bar hardening of protein bars.

Protein bars are one product that meet consumer demands for a low-carbohydrate, high-protein food. With such a large market for protein bars, producers need to find the correct texture and sweetness levels to satisfy consumers while still delivering a high-protein, low-carbohydrate bar. In the bar industry, bar hardening is a major concern, and currently the effects of non-nutritive sweeteners on bar hardening is unknown. Due to the negative implications of bar hardening, it is important to investigate the sweetener-protein relationship with bar hardening. The objective of this study was to characterize the effects of sweetener and protein source on flavor, texture, and shelf life of high-protein, low-carbohydrate bars. The iso-sweet concentration of sweeteners (sucralose, sucrose, monk fruit, stevia, and fructose) in pea protein (PP), milk protein (MP) and whey protein isolate (WPI) bars were established using magnitude estimation scaling and 2-alternative forced-choice testing. Descriptive analysis and temporal check-all-that-apply methods were then applied to determine flavor and temporal differences between the protein bars. Finally, an accelerated shelf life study was completed to understand how sweetener and protein types affect the shelf life of protein bars. The 15 protein bars formulated at iso-sweet concentration were all stored at 35°C and 55% humidity for 35 d, and measurements were taken every 7 d, beginning at d 1 (d 1, 7, 14, 21, 28, and 35). Bars made with MP required significantly less sweetener, compared with PP and WPI, to reach equal sweetness. Bars sweetened with stevia or monk fruit had distinct bitter and metallic tastes, and sucralose had a low metallic taste. Bars made with WPI were the most cohesive, and PP and WPI bars were more bitter and metallic compared with MP bars. Bars made with WPI and fructose were initially the hardest, but after d 14 they scored at parity with PP sucrose. There were no significant differences among bars in terms of hardness by d 21. Bars made with WPI were consistently denser at all time points than bars made with PP or MP. Bars made with PP were the driest and least cohesive and had the fastest rate of breakdown in the study. Non-nutritive sweeteners did not have a negative effect on bar hardness in low-carbohydrate, high-protein bars. Findings from this study can be applied to commercially produced protein bars for naturally sweetened bars with different protein types without negative effects on protein bar texture.

Consumer rejection threshold, acceptability rates, physicochemical properties, and shelf-life of strawberry-flavored yogurts with reductions of sugar.

BACKGROUND: There is an increasing demand for reduced-sugar products due to the worldwide prevalence of obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of sugar (sucrose) reductions on the acceptability, preference, and quality of strawberry-flavored yogurts. A consumer rejection threshold test and an acceptability test (N = 53) were conducted using six yogurt samples with decreasing concentrations of sugar (12-5/100 g). Additional physicochemical tests (pH, °Brix, water-holding-capacity, viscosity, and color) were conducted to examine the quality and shelf-life of strawberry-flavored yogurts with reductions of sucrose during 28 days of storage at 4 °C. RESULTS: Reduction of sucrose affected the acceptability and physicochemical characteristics of yogurts. The consumer rejection threshold showed that sucrose in strawberry-flavored yogurts could be reduced to 5.25/100 g from an initial concentration of 12/100 g without affecting the preferences of consumers. The 71%-sucrose (8.50/100 g of yogurt) was perceived as the most liked (6.27 using a nine-point hedonic scale) and the most preferred (rank sum = 127.50) yogurt sample. For the physicochemical properties of yogurts, the viscosity (3263-5473 cP) decreased, and the color lightness (80.98-85.44) increased during 28 days of storage at 4 °C. CONCLUSION: Physicochemical properties and preferences were affected by the reduction of sugar. The consumer rejection threshold analysis showed that sucrose can be reduced to less than half of the initial concentration. These findings are useful to understand consumers' acceptability and shelf-life of yogurts with reduced-sugar formulations in the developing of new products. © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry.

Evaluation of Sweetener Synergy in Humans by Isobole Analyses.

The chemical senses and pharmaceuticals fundamentally depend on similar biological processes, but novel molecule discovery has classically been approached from vastly different vantage points. From the perspective of ingredient and flavor companies, there are countless ingredients that act via largely unknown mechanisms, whereas the pharmaceutical industry has numerous mechanisms in search of novel compounds. Mixtures of agonists can result in synergistic (superadditive) responses, which can be quantified via isobole analysis, a well-proven clinical approach in pharmacology. For the food and beverage industries, bulk (caloric) sweeteners like sugars are a key ingredient in sweetened foods and beverages, but consumers also desire products with fewer calories, which has led to the development of sweet enhancers and sweetener blends intended to achieve synergy or superadditivity. Synergistic mixtures are highly attractive targets commercially as they enable lower usage levels and enhanced efficacy. Although the psychophysical literature contains numerous prior reports of sweetener synergy, others have also noted that classical additive models fail to account for nonlinear dose-response functions. To address this shortcoming, here we systematically apply the isobole method from pharmacology to quantify the presence or absence of psychophysical synergy for binary pairs of sweeteners in a series of 15 separate experiments, each with ~100 adult volunteers (total n = 1576). Generally, these data support the hypothesis that structurally similar sweeteners acting as agonists will not synergize, whereas structurally dissimilar sweeteners binding to overlapping or distal sites can act as allosteric agonists or agonist-antagonists, respectively.

Sugar reduction without compromising sensory perception. An impossible dream?

Sugar reduction is a major technical challenge for the food industry to address in response to public health concerns regarding the amount of added sugars in foods. This paper reviews sweet taste perception, sensory methods to evaluate sugar reduction and the merits of different techniques available to reduce sugar content. The use of sugar substitutes (non-nutritive sweeteners, sugar alcohols, and fibres) can achieve the greatest magnitude of sugar and energy reduction, however bitter side tastes and varying temporal sweet profiles are common issues. The use of multisensory integration principles (particularly aroma) can be an effective approach to reduce sugar content, however the magnitude of sugar reduction is small. Innovation in food structure (modifying the sucrose distribution, serum release and fracture mechanics) offers a new way to reduce sugar without significant changes in food composition, however may be difficult to implement in food produced on a large scale. Gradual sugar reduction presents difficulties for food companies from a sales perspective if acceptability is compromised. Ultimately, a holistic approach where food manufacturers integrate a range of these techniques is likely to provide the best progress. However, substantial reduction of sugar in processed foods without compromising sensory properties may be an impossible dream.

Invited review: Sugar reduction in dairy products.

Sugar overconsumption continues to increase worldwide and contributes to multiple health-related issues. Dairy foods represent a large market, grossing more than $125 billion per year worldwide. Consumer demands for healthier products are leading to a large push for sugar reduction in dairy foods. Sugar plays an important role in dairy foods, not only in flavor but also in texture, color, and viscosity. Replacing sugar can have negative effects, making substitution inherently difficult. Natural and artificial nonnutritive sweeteners exist for sugar reduction. Natural nonnutritive sweeteners are popular, particularly for label appeal, but many consumers still prefer the taste of artificial nonnutritive sweeteners. Sweet taste perception can also be affected by texture of the food matrix and the presence of fat. Other sugar reduction techniques include hydrolysis of lactose, ultrafiltration, and direct reduction. This review will address the role of sugar, alternative sweeteners, and sugar reduction in ice cream, yogurt, and flavored milk.

Sugar reduction of skim chocolate milk and viability of alternative sweetening through lactose hydrolysis.

Milk consumption by Americans has not met the standards of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Chocolate milk can improve milk consumption, especially by children, due to its color and taste. However, the high sugar content of chocolate milk is a cause for concern about its healthfulness, resulting in its removal from some school lunch programs. It is important to reduce the sugar content of chocolate milk and still maintain acceptability among consumers. It is also important to investigate other natural alternatives to sweetening. The objectives of this study were to identify the different sweetness intensity perceptions of sucrose in water and various dairy matrices, to identify the acceptable reduction in sweet taste for chocolate milk for both young adults (19-35 yr) and children (5-13 yr), and to determine if lactose hydrolysis is a viable alternative. Threshold and power function studies were used to determine the benchmark concentration of sucrose in chocolate milk. The acceptability of sugar reduction from the benchmark concentration for both young adults and children and the acceptability of lactose hydrolyzed chocolate milk (4°C for 24 h) with added lactose for young adults were evaluated. Acceptability results demonstrated that sugar reduction in chocolate milk is possible for both young adults and children as long as it does not exceed a 30% reduction (from 205 mM). Lactose hydrolysis of added lactose was used to achieve the sweetness of sucrose in chocolate milk but required >7.5% (wt/vol) added lactose, which contributed undesirable calories, indicating that lactose hydrolysis may be more suitable for other dairy beverages that require less added sugar. The findings of this study demonstrate consumer acceptance of reduced-sugar chocolate milk and a possible way to use lactose hydrolysis in dairy beverages.