USA – Ingredion Incorporated, a leading global provider of ingredient solutions to diversified industries, has introduced a new line of low-sugar glucose syrups.

Called Versasweet, the new glucose syrup has been introduced to help decrease the amount of sugar on labels, while at the same time manufacturers can also make product labels more appealing by reducing the sugar contents of their products.

Versasweet has been introduced in the US and Canada markets, and according to the company, will be rolled out to other markets by end of this year.

Versasweet low-sugar glucose syrups enable manufacturers of confectionery, dairy, ice cream and baked good products to achieve reduced grams of sugar on the Nutrition Facts panel by formulating with low-sugar corn- or tapioca-based glucose syrups that, compared to standard glucose syrups, have a lower percentage of mono- and disaccharides, also called DP1 + DP2.

According to a 2017 Mintel Sugar Reduction Trends report, more than 80% of consumers are checking on the sugar contents of foods and beverages before making purchases.

“The challenge for food manufacturers has been to reformulate to a lower sugar product with minimal or no changes to the ingredient declaration list or existing processes,” says Nate Yates, director of the Sweetness Springboard, North America at Ingredion.

“Versasweet low-sugar glucose syrups can help manufacturers overcome this challenge when they are already using glucose syrup. Low viscosity, non-GMO corn and tapioca options of Versasweet low-sugar glucose syrup are also available.”

In another proprietary study by Ingredion, 61% of consumers said that added sugar on the nutrition label would negatively impact their purchase intent.

“In response to heighted awareness of sugar on labels, especially in the face of changing sugar regulations in the U.S. and Canada, manufacturers can give consumers the taste and sweet experience they expect with Versasweet low-sugar glucose syrups,” says Afrouz Naeini, Ingredion’s senior marketing manager of sweetness and beverage, North America.

Versasweet low-sugar glucose syrups can offer a 50% or higher reduction of DP1 + DP2, depending on the glucose syrup being replaced.

According to Ingredion’s internal testing, the range of ingredients is about one-third as sweet as sucrose, with a clean-taste and similar functionality to traditional glucose syrups and is stable when exposed to heat and acid, with a low Maillard reactivity.

Depending on the Versasweet low-sugar glucose syrup chosen, it can be labelled as glucose syrup, corn syrup or tapioca syrup.

Like other products of its kind, VERSASWEET low-sugar glucose syrups contain the same caloric and carbohydrate content as traditional glucose syrups, says the company.