Searching for a useful and cheap alternative to sugar: can ‘allulose’ prove to be alchemy’s recipe?
“I believe this sugar substitute is actually prescription alchemy.”
Zev Zweihaft, the head of ‘Zus Food Sciences’, likened this white granular powder called ‘Allulose’ as a sugar substitute to the ‘Holy Grail’ of healing stones.
Allulose is about 70 percent as sweet as sugar in taste, but contains far fewer calories and has almost negligible effects on blood sugar levels. Allulose is rarely available naturally and is found naturally in figs and raisins.
It was first approved for use in the United States about a decade ago. This so-called ‘rare sugar’ is commercially produced from fructose, the natural glucose found in fruits.
However, it is now widely recognized as an excellent substitute for sugar and is equally useful in both taste and function, but since it is available in very small quantities, its price is quite high.
Dr. Zweighaft describes the Israeli start-up ‘Ambrosia Bio’ as a much cheaper way to make it with a proprietary enzyme (produced by a genetically modified microorganism) than sugar or high-fructose corn syrup. are used as raw materials.
Dr. Zweighaft hopes that this way he can make allulose available for general use.
With increasing rates of obesity and diabetes worldwide, many consumers are now looking for better and healthier alternatives to sugar.
A group of food-tech startups is engaged in supplying alulose to major food companies for inclusion in their products.
“The demand for alternative sugar industry is very high globally,” says Gaurav Sahni, an analyst at Gray Bee.
He added that the governments of various countries are contributing to this trend by increasing taxes on sugar and other similar measures.
Gray B projects the global market for sugar substitutes is worth US$17 billion today and is likely to grow to more than US$28 billion in a decade’s time.
In fact, there are already many alternatives to sugar. Older artificial sweeteners such as aspartame, saccharin and sucralose are commonly used in diet drinks, and newer natural sweeteners such as stevia and monk fruit are extracted from plants.
Note that the latter is not yet approved as a foodstuff in the UK or the EU.
They are many times sweeter than sugar, so only a small amount is sufficient.
There are also polyols or sugar alcohols, and erythritol has particularly gained popularity in recent years.
They occur naturally but are produced commercially from sugar and starch, they are not as sweet as sugar but contain enough sweetness to make processed foods and other processed foods.
However, sugar substitutes fall short, and their taste and after-use sweetness can be problematic, say experts.
Mervyn D’Souza, senior director at Jungco Bioworks, an American biotech firm that researches the same, says: ‘Sugar does more than just make things sweet.’
It also has potentially damaging health effects.
allulose side effects | allulose and cancer
The sugar substitute erythritol has also been warned of a risk of stroke and heart attack. (Although many other researchers call this conclusion premature.)
Another alternative, aspartame, has raised concerns about cancer experts from the World Health Organization, calling it a ‘probable carcinogen’. However, a subsidiary of the World Health Organization has certified it as safe under current food guidelines.
In May, the World Health Organization issued a general recommendation against the use of sugar substitutes for weight control, adding that they may increase the risk of diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
It should be noted that the agency has reviewed the available evidence for many products, including stevia, but has not tested monic, allulose, or erythritol. Startups see room for improvement in this.
In January, US-based start-up Bonomos ASR Group opened a new plant in the world’s largest cane sugar refinery to produce tagatose, a natural sweetener, at a lower cost. can be prepared.
It is also considered an excellent sugar substitute and is closer to allulose with a sweetness of ninety percent. Ed Rogers, chief executive of Bonomos, calls it the perfect sweetener.
Apart from this, many other new sweeteners (sugar substitutes) are coming out in large numbers.
A UK-based Splint company has developed a low-calorie product that is lightly sweetened. Supplant produces it from agricultural waste, specifically using fig stems and stalks down to its straw.
Chief executive Dr Tom Simmons says it is similar to sugar while its raw material is abundant, cheap and environmentally sustainable.
On the other hand, there are the so-called sweet proteins that are much sweeter than sugar and are naturally found in some fruits and berries, while those who like them offer them as a good-tasting dessert.
US-based start-up ‘Obley’ produces sweet proteins by fermenting sugar using genetically modified yeast.
“Sweet proteins work best in soda,” says Obli chief executive Ali Wing. But despite these claims, startups face several hurdles.
One of these customers is to be found. It can take a few years for major manufacturers to reformulate a product using new ingredients. Startups also need to demonstrate that they can mass-produce their alternatives while making them reliable.
On the other hand, reluctance is also seen among buyers to try new products.
Obtaining regulatory approval for these ingredients can also be a difficult step. Although most products are approved in the US, the same approval is more difficult in Europe.
Elulose is not currently approved by the UK or the EU, although an association of companies is seeking approval.
The supplant company is currently preparing a dossier to submit its product to UK and EU regulators. Tagatos, on the other hand, has been approved for use in the United States, the United Kingdom, and the European Union.
But marketing it can be difficult. It is not allowed to be described as ‘zero sugar’ like allulose because it contains slightly more calories than allulose.
It’s exciting to see new sugar alternatives emerging, says Cumbersten Hope, a nutritional biologist at the University of California, Davis. The best solution is to cut out sugar, but it can be difficult.
According to him, we need these products.
Dr Shane Hope believes that, contrary to the World Health Organisation’s recommendations, eating sugar-free sweets can help control weight and reduce the risk of diabetes.
According to him, WHO has based its recommendations on only one type of study.
But they also say that each new product will need to be carefully tested for safety and potential benefit. “We need clinical trials for them.”