Award-winning Culture Reduces Added Sugar in Fermented Dairy Products

In 2016, more than 1.9 billion adults, 18 years and older, were overweight. Of these over 650 million were obese. This equates to 13% of the global adult population. Besides that, 41 million children under the age of 5 were overweight or obese in 2016. Danish bio-science company Novonesis has produced a product that decreases added sugars in fermented dairy products to decrease global obesity.

Globally, sugar reduction is a very relevant area of action where the food industry can contribute positively through partnerships, research and innovation. Health organisations and governments are setting objectives to reduce sugar in foods, while retailers are pledging their commitment to reducing sugar in products in their stores. Consumers are increasingly focusing on sugar content, while looking for natural products that taste great. This leaves dairy manufacturers with the challenge of reducing the amount of added sugar, especially in yogurt, without compromising on quality.

Novonesis might have part of the solution. Their new Sweety® Y-1 is an innovative culture solution allowing the natural creation of sweetness by unlocking milk’s own resource – lactose. Sweety® Y-1 is a culture solution using Streptococcus thermophilus and Lactobacillus bulgaricus cultures.

With Sweety Y-1 you can add less sugar and still get the same sweet-tasting product, resulting in a healthier product offering

The culture, which won the Food Ingredients Europe Innovation Award 2019 in the Reformulation Innovation category, works by converting the naturally occurring sugars in milk, using more of the lactose and leaving glucose – which provides a greater sweetness intensity. This means you can add less sugar and still get the same sweet-tasting product, resulting in a healthier product offering.

In today’s market for fermented dairy products, the pressure is on dairy manufacturers to reduce added sugar, especially in yogurt. The new culture solution Sweety® Y-1 enables the development of natural and clean label products without the use of artificial sweeteners. Thus, Novonesis is offering a more healthy alternative to the often calorie-heavy overly sweetened yogurts.

The Sweety solution can therefore take the dairy industry forward by helping to reduce the added sugar while maintaining the sweet taste in a natural way.