New Allulose Sweetener Boasts 90% Fewer Calories Than Sucrose

March 27, 2015

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Could Tate & Lyle’s new natural, low-calorie sweetener give stevia a run for its money?

Ingredients supplier Tate & Lyle (London) has launched a new sweetener ingredient that it claims retains the sweetness and mouthfeel of table sugar with a fraction of the calories. The new sweetener, Dolcia Prima, is a branded allulose ingredient that Tate & Lyle developed through a proprietary process of converting corn carbohydrates into low-calorie sugar.

Allulose was first identified in wheat more than 70 years ago and small quantities of the sugar can be found in foods like jackfruit, figs, and raisins. What makes the branded ingredient a promising newcomer to the low-calorie sweetener market is Tate & Lyle’s patented process of producing the sugar from basic agricultural raw materials, such as corn.

“One of the biggest challenges our industry faces is reducing calories while maintaining the taste experience consumers expect from their favorite foods and beverages,” says Abigail Storms, vice president, platform management, sweeteners, Tate & Lyle. The company says Dolcia Prima is 70% as sweet as sucrose and has 90% fewer calories. It is currently available as a highly-soluble, liquid ingredient, according to marketing materials.

Aside from the low-calorie factor, one of the biggest appeals of Dolcia Prima may be that allulose and traditional table sugar share the same temporal taste profile, says Tate & Lyle, which could mean consumers are more amenable to products that substitute allulose for sucrose. Like other sugars, allulose facilitates browning upon baking, depresses freezing points in frozen products, and adds bulk and texture to products, according to a press release.

“In taste trials, consumers ranked low-calorie versions of foods made with Dolcia Prima equally with the full-calorie versions,” says Storms.

Dolcia Prima is just the latest addition to Tate & Lyle’s sweetener portfolio, which already includes Splenda Sucralose and Tasteva Stevia Sweetener. The company says Dolcia Prima can be used in combination with other types of sweeteners.

But if Dolcia Prima Allulose shares the taste profile of table sugar and combines natural and low-calorie appeal, could this be the birth of a new competitor with stevia?