An international consortium is asking the EU for recognition of allulose as a novel food. The ingredient would allow foods to be sweetened without aggravating their caloric intake.
Allulose, the sugar in wheat
Allulose is a monosaccharide naturally found in small amounts in wheat, raisins, figs, molasses, maple syrup, and brown sugar. Through the use of enzymes, it is extracted in larger quantities from corn and sugar beet.
The relevant properties for the food industry lie in high sweetening capacity (70 percent of sucrose’s power) and a caloric intake of just 0.4 Kcal/g, 10 percent of common sugar.
Acaloric sweetener in Asia
In Asia-South Korea, Singapore and Japan-allulose is already used with the classification of zero-calorie sweetener. It is also approved as a food ingredient in Mexico and the United States.
To expedite the authorization of the novel food, the international Allulose Novel Food Consortium submitted a simultaneous application to the European Commission and the UK Food Standard Agency.
Allulose in labeling
The new ingredient application qualifies allulose as a carbohydrate. Indeed, the further aim is to prevent it from being called sugar, as is already the case in South Korea and the United States.
If approved, the new ingredient could sweeten foods labeled as ‘sugar-free.’ A valuable wild card in the reformulation of HFSS(High in Fat, Sugar and Sodium) foods, which is imperative now in the UK.
The consortium for allulose
The Allulose Novel Food Consortium (ANFC) is composed of the European Cosun Beet Company, the U.S.-based Ingredion Inc. the Japanese Matsutani Chemical Industry and the South Korean Samyang Corp.
Industry stakeholders are urged to join the group to expedite the authorization of novel food.
Professional journalist since January 1995, he has worked for newspapers (Il Messaggero, Paese Sera, La Stampa) and periodicals (NumeroUno, Il Salvagente). She is the author of journalistic surveys on food, she has published the book "Reading labels to know what we eat".
