Better Juice is scaling up its sugar-reduction technology

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Better Juice, Ltd. (Rehovot, Israel), a foodTech startup that developed a sugar-reducing technology for orange juice, is installing a semi-industrial pilot plant that features its sugar-reduction process in a continuous flow technology to ensure a consistent, safe, and effective enzymatic process.

“We’ve signed collaboration agreements with several global juice producers so far,” said Eran Blachinsky, PhD, founder and CEO of Better Juice, in a press release. “Our goal is to attain full industrial scale and supply to the market within a year. Soon, you will be able to see natural juice beverages with more favorable Nutri-Scores.” Nutri-Score is a new food label system that converts the nutritional value of products into a clear letter and color code on the packaging in Europe.

The company’s enzymatic technology uses all-natural ingredients to convert fructose, glucose, and sucrose into prebiotic dietary fibers and other non-digestible molecules. It is able to reduce up to 80% of simple sugar in orange juice at a rate of up to 50 liters/hour. Better Juice’s non-GMO technology is designed to target the specific sugar composition in the orange juice to naturally create a low-calorie, reduced-sugar product without using sweeteners or other additives to replace the sugars in the juice.

One major hurdle in continuous flow reduction of sugars in natural juices is keeping the process contamination-free without damaging the enzymatic activity. Better Juice developed a new device made from stainless steel, with aseptic fittings and welding, together with a process that guarantees a continuous, safe flow for its enzymatic sugar-reduction process for weeks at a time without interrupting the sterilization stage.

“Better Juice’s new tech process is cost-effective by virtue of its ability to maintain the continuous flow stage,” Gali Yarom, Partner, COO, and VP of business development for Better Juice, said in a press release. “This is a key factor for beverage manufacturers seeking to affordably reduce sugars naturally while maintaining the juice quality and clean-label attributes — a real game changer for the juice industry.”