Allulose
Reducing sugar content in food and beverages to meet the demand of health-conscious consumers doesn't have to come at the cost of flavor or taste experience. Allulose is a low-calorie sweetener that helps maintain both the taste and texture consumers love.
What is allulose?
Allulose is a rare sugar naturally found in fruits, figs, etc., and is derived from corn or more specifically crystalline fructose. It is approximately 70% as sweet as sugar and has nearly zero calories — less than 10% of typical sugar. Additionally, the taste is similar to sugar with no bitterness or artificial flavor associated with it.
What is allulose used for?
Allulose is used to reduce sugar while helping to maintain both taste and texture. It adds bulk to food products while enhancing mouthfeel and taste in beverages. Unlike some other sugar alternatives, allulose browns when baked, giving it a similar experience to baking with sugar. In fact, allulose can effectively be used in both baked goods and frozen desserts.
Here are some of the major product categories that are a great fit for allulose:
- Beverages
- Bakery
- Fruit preps
- Frozen desserts (provides freeze-point depression)
- Confectionery products like candies and gummies
Additionally, when used with dairy, there's no unwanted crystallization. Allulose is a well-rounded low calorie alternative to traditional sugars used in food products.
How is allulose made?
Allulose is considered to be a rare sugar, meaning it is only found in very small quantities in nature. So while it is present in a variety of dried fruits (as well as maple syrup and molasses), commercial producers must look elsewhere to scale this ingredient. Corn is processed to fructose and then to allulose.
Allulose formulations
Allulose is versatile and can be used across different types of formulations because the sweetness and functionality is close to sugar.
Baking
Allulose can be incorporated into doughs, fillings and batters at a maximum usage rate of 10% per dry basis. It helps to bind ingredients while improving both texture and structure. Plus, it helps with browning when the final product is baked, a characteristic that is often lacking in other sugar alternatives.
Liquids
Allulose is easy to incorporate into delicious beverages, especially since you do not have to worry about the taste being overly sweet or bitter. Additionally, liquid allulose has an appropriate viscosity for mouthfeel and combines easily with other ingredients with no separation.
Frozen desserts
An ally of reduced sugar and dairy-free formulators, allulose adds a creamy with smooth scoopability, and helps avoid the hard crystals you often experience in reduced sugar frozen desserts. It incorporates into the base at a 5% maximum usage rate in frozen applications. Allulose helps to build back viscosity of the base, providing a familiar texture. Plus, this reduced calorie sweetener does not impact the freezing point as other sugar alternatives tend to do.
ASTRAEA® Allulose
Explore the benefits of ASTREA® Allulose, our specific allulose solution to deliver delicious solutions for your consumers.
Plus, watch our culinology experts walk through exactly how to formulate with ASTREA® Allulose in your beverage, baking, and frozen dessert products.
What do consumers think of allulose?
The biggest hurdle in consumers' perception of allulose is simply that they are not yet familiar with it as an ingredient, and it is still pending regulatory approval in some regions. Once provided with a brief education on the characteristics of allulose, consumers tend to have a positive opinion in most instances. In a consumer study performed by Ingredion, 7% of survey respondents gave allulose an acceptable rating before learning anything about it. After being provided with a brief definition, that number jumped to 95%.1
The two statements that most impacted consumer perception were:
"Contains low/no sugar"
"Good alternative to sugar
Once these benefits were understood, consumers were more open to trying foods with allulose as a sugar substitute, with particular interest in energy drinks, light ice cream and nutritional beverages.
Benefits of allulose
There are a range of benefits that come with using allulose, both from a manufacturing standpoint and from the consumer point of view.2
Sugar-free
Allulose does not appear as sugar or added sugar on nutrition labels.
Humectancy
Allulose adds moisture to food products so it doesn't dry out. It also prevents the formation of ice crystals when frozen, keeping food intact.
Glycemic response
Blood sugar and insulin levels are not impacted by allulose, making it safe alternative for individuals who wish to manage their blood sugar levels.3
Better for oral health
Unlike table sugar, allulose is non-cariogenic and does not contribute to formation of dental caries.
Considered keto-friendly
Allulose doesn't affect blood glucose, making it an increasingly popular ingredient for ketogenic dieters who eat minimal carbohydrates or sugar.
Why is allulose low calorie?
Allulose is derived from corn fructose, although this sugar substitute can also be found in certain fruits in extremely small quantities.
One of the unique qualities of allulose is that it's a monosaccharide (or single-molecule product). That means allulose isn't actually digested — it passes straight through the body within 24 to 48 hours. This is why it's assigned virtually no calories on nutrition labels; it simply doesn't stay in the body long enough to turn into a carbohydrate.
Is allulose safe?
Allulose has achieved Generally Recognized as Safe, or GRAS, status from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), meaning it's been deemed safe for use at approved levels in certain food products. It's also approved in other countries across the world, including Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Mexico.
Ready to improve the texture and flavor of your food while still tapping into the low sugar market? Allulose is a premium option that addresses many pitfalls traditionally found in formulations using sugar alternatives.
Let’s reimagine sweetness together
PureCircle™ by Ingredion offers a comprehensive portfolio of allulose solutions to address your sugar reduction challenge.
Sources
1Ingredion proprietary study, consumer perception of allulose, 2020
2U.S. Food and Drug Administration
3The Declaration of Allulose and Calories from Allulose on Nutrition and Supplement Facts Labels, Guidance for Industry Draft Guidance, FDA, 2019