2018 Clean Label Conference
Presentation: Overcoming Clean Label Challenges in Sugar Reduction, Replacement and Reformulation
Speaker: Jerome Diaz, Ph.D., Scientist, Food Design and Structuring, Wageningen Food and Biobased Research, Wageningen University & Research
Jerome is a food scientist at the Wageningen Food and Biobased Research. As part of the food design and structuring group, he is involved in the functional ingredient R&D. His involvement in clean labelling started in 2012 when the first public-private partnership on clean labelling was developed. Together with his colleagues, Jerome explored technical, consumer, and regulatory issues surrounding clean labelling. Since then, Jerome has since published feature articles on various aspects of clean labelling.
Jerome obtained his doctoral degree from the University of California, Davis and post-doctoral training from the University of Copenhagen.
About Wageningen Food and Biobased Research:
Wageningen Food & Biobased Research is part of Wageningen University & Research, The Netherlands, with the aim to explore the potential of nature to improve the quality of life. Our researchers have direct access to the latest scientific findings and have a firm grasp of what modern technology offers. Making smart connections between various disciplines, we investigate and develop at all stages: upscaling from lab to pilot and from initial idea to the production processes that deliver real products for our customers. To fulfill our promise, we ensure that the solutions we create are applicable in daily practice.
Wageningen Food & Biobased Research develops insights and technologies that support companies, governments and other research institutes in creating innovative solutions for a healthier, more sustainable and prosperous world. We partner in the creation and production of healthy and tasty foods, of truly-sustainable food chains, and in developing chemicals and materials that use biomass instead of fossil resources. Our in-depth knowledge of the entire chain, from raw materials through processing to end product, drives our approach.
Presentation Title: Overcoming Clean Label Challenges in Sugar Reduction, Replacement and Reformulation
Description:
In many food application areas, sugar serves a much broader function than merely influencing sweetness. In addition to their role in modulating taste, aroma and color, sugar also serves as bulking agent and texture modulator affecting flow properties, crystallization, interfacial and network formation in complex food systems. Understanding the multifunctional role that sugar plays in complex food systems is a key aspect for successful reformulation without changes in product quality attributes. Nonetheless, sugar reformulation becomes increasingly challenging when issues related to clean labelling are taken into consideration. Especially since most clean label sugar alternatives only partly displaces the associated sugar functionality in a given application.
In this presentation, the interaction of sugar along with other ingredients in complex food systems will be discussed. Sugar functionalities in specific food applications will be compared with clean label alternatives. Specifically, challenges in confectionary and beverage applications will be highlighted. Furthermore, the utility of thermodynamic models in sugar reformulation will be described. This presentation will be valuable for product developers intending to successfully reduce, replace and reformulate sugar under a clean label framework. Ultimately, this presentation intends to showcase a way of working that results in targeted sugar reformulation strategy to hasten time to market of high quality, clean label sugar reformulated consumer products.
