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Commercial Use of Tagatose Sweetener
Commercial Use of Tagatose Sweetener -- Posted by Gumbo on 11-04-04 17:30
Commercial Use of Tagatose Sweetener
Source: American Diabetes Association
Publication date: 2003-09-25
The diet slurpee discovers the missing ingredient
By Jane E. Allen
Los Angeles Times
September 25, 2003
A new, low-calorie sweetener is making its U.S. debut in a diet frozen cola
drink, but it may not be long before you find it in breakfast cereals,
brownies, ice cream, candies and energy bars.
The commercial launch of tagatose, which has 92 per cent of the sweetness of
table sugar, came with the introduction of 7-Eleven's Diet Pepsi Slurpee.
For years the convenience store chain had tried to create a no-calorie
version of its popular drink, but those efforts had failed either the taste
test or the consistency test.
Combined with two other sugar substitutes, erythritol and sucralose
(Splenda), tagatose makes the frozen drink taste more like the
sugar-sweetened original. A naturally occurring sugar found in dairy
products and sold under the brand name Naturlose, tagatose is made from
whey, a byproduct of cheese-making. It's a bulk sweetener like saccharin and
Splenda, but those and other artificial sweeteners are hundreds of times
sweeter than sugar and must be mixed with fillers. Tagatose spoons and
measures just like sugar.
The sweetener withstands the heat of baking, dissolves like regular sugar
and remains stable when exposed to air. Because it doesn't raise levels of
blood sugar or insulin, it can be used by diabetics. Furthermore, it's a
flavour enhancer that reduces bitter aftertastes of other sugar substitutes.
"It offers the potential to be a good-tasting sweetener that can readily be
used in recipes, which is a big deal," said Dr. Anne Peters Harmel, a
diabetes specialist at the University of Southern California, noting how
difficult it is to cook with sugar substitutes. "This will be easier."
Tagatose was developed and patented by Spherix Inc., a bioengineering firm
in Beltsville, Md., which licensed the rights for use in food and beverages
to Arla Foods, a Danish dairy producer. Although Arla wasn't required to
seek FDA approval to market tagatose in food, the company provided the
agency in 2001 "with scientific data supporting their conclusion that
tagatose is safe," said Linda Kahl, an FDA consumer safety officer.
Like several other sugar substitutes, tagatose is partly absorbed in the
small intestine; some of it breaks down in the large intestine.
As a result, in large amounts, it can cause bloating, gas, nausea and
diarrhea. But at the doses most people might consume in a day, tagatose
shouldn't cause a big problem, Kahl said.
Other companies have expressed interest in tagatose, including Kellogg's.
Last October, the Michigan cereal and snack giant wrote the FDA saying
tagatose could be useful in the fight against obesity.
Spherix has sponsored research at the University of Maryland into the
potential use of tagatose as a Type 2 diabetes treatment.
Very small studies have shown that taking tagatose regularly lowers levels
of glycohemoglobin, an indicator of how well diabetics keep their blood
sugar under control.
Publication date: 2003-09-25
© 2003, YellowBrix, Inc.
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