SWEET SUBSTITUTES

Dairy Field, May 2005 by Dahm, Lori

Although the advent of Splenda in yogurt may catch the attention of the consumer because the awareness of this branded ingredient is so high, up until now consumers may not have been cognizant of the use of the sweetener ingredient aspartame in yogurt products.

"If the yogurt label states sugarfree, consumers might know something is replacing that sugar," Naulty says. "But in general, for the very popular fat-free yogurt products, consumers may not realize that a sugar substitute is being used because the products taste great."

Consumption of yogurt products has risen dramatically in the past few years as consumers have learned of the inherently healthy quality of this cultured dairy product. The growing popularity of yogurt has also spurred consumer interest in drinkable yogurts and smoothies, which can also use sweetener ingredients if calorie reduction or sugar replacement is the goal.

"We have done considerable applications work using a maltitol solution in reduced-sugar smoothies, and this year at IFT we will be demonstrating the use of maltitol solutions and syrup to reduce sugar and calories in smoothies. Maltitol syrups contribute significantly to the sweetness and texture of these products in a way not possible with stabilizers and high potency sweeteners alone," Deis says. "Smoothies are very popular in Europe, Latin America and the Pacific Rim, where they are consumed for their prebiotic benefits. With the emphasis on sugar reduction here, and a turn toward dairy beverages as an alternative, Americans are beginning to discover these products."

Milk

As for flavored milk products, sweetener ingredients are just beginning to become a force in this dairy category.

"Aspartame can be used in flavored milk beverages, but currently other parts of the world see more of this type of application than we see here," Naulty says. "But similar to the smoothies, meal replacement drinks or yogurt drinks that use aspartame to reduce carbohydrate levels or sugar content, aspartame is an appropriate sweetening agent in flavored milks."

When using sweetening ingredients in milk beverages, the viscosity of the product is affected by removing the sugar, so formulations may incorporate gums or stabilizers to maintain the desired mouthfeel.

"Flavored milks are starting to become more popular in schools due to the activities of MilkPEP and similar programs, and due to the actions by schools to remove high-sugar beverages from school programs," Deis says. "We have developed flavored milks which reduce sugars further than those currently available without giving up significant texture and sweetness."

Recently, the most common cause for using sweetener ingredients in milk beverages has been the debut of reduced-carbohydrate milks in which sugar was removed and replaced. Now that the low-carb trend is waning so rapidly, use of these ingredients if more often sought for their ability to reduce sugar levels, calories, cariogenicity and glycemic impact.

"Reduced sugar is a category that is only now starting to become of interest, particularly since consumers have become more aware of sugars in their diet as an outcome of the low-carb explosion," Brooks says."