In recent decades, awareness of the importance of healthy eating has increased significantly among the global population. One of the critical aspects of this paradigm shift is the reduction of added sugars in the diet - a key factor in preventing chronic diseases such as obesity, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
In both adults and children, the WHO recommends reducing the intake of free sugars to less than 10 % of total caloric intake.
This growing concern has led consumers to demand products with a more balanced nutritional profile, offering health benefits without compromising on taste or quality.
In response, the food industry is innovating and reformulating products to meet these demands, marking a trend towards healthier and more sustainable options in the marketplace.
The reduction of sugars in industrial bakery and confectionery products is a challenge for development teams as it unbalances the rheology of the dough and the organoleptic properties of traditional recipes.
These are some of the handicaps the industry faces when reducing sugars in its formulations. There are key ingredients that could solve this challenge in a number of applications:
HANDICAPS
- Changes in the behaviour and rheology of the dough (less strength, less extensibility) - Less volume in the final product.
- Pale colour.
- Loss of tenderness, drier product.
- Denser crumb.
- Loss of sweetness.
- Unbalanced overall flavour.
SOLUTIONS
- Resistant soluble fibre acts as a bulking agent to compensate for the structural functionality of sugar while improving the nutritional profile by providing fibre.
- Soluble fibres allow to increase the moisture content in the product to prevent it from drying out and to keep it tender for a longer period of time.
- Enzyme complex compensates for the loss of volume and improves the properties of the dough in those cases where it is affected (fermented laminated dough in particular).
- Flavour modulators enhance the sweet flavours present in the matrix and balance the overall taste of the application.