Bake & Sweeten Healthier with Allulose

In recent years, there has been a growing interest in finding healthier alternatives to traditional sugar without compromising taste. One such alternative that has gained significant attention is allulose. With its ability to provide sweetness without adding calories, allulose has become a popular choice for health-conscious individuals and those looking to manage their sugar intake. Especially popular in the baking world. In this article, we will explore the benefits of allulose and how it can be used to bake and sweeten your favourite treats in a healthier way.

Understanding Allulose:

Allulose is a naturally occurring sugar that is found in small quantities in certain fruits, such as figs, raisins, and jackfruit. It is a monosaccharide, just like glucose and fructose, but it has a unique molecular structure that makes it indigestible to the body. Unlike regular sugar, allulose does not significantly raise blood sugar levels or contribute to calorie intake, making it an attractive option for those on low-carb or sugar-restricted diets.

Benefits of Allulose:

Calorie Reduction: 

Allulose contains approximately 90% fewer calories than regular sugar. This makes it an excellent choice for individuals who are watching their calorie intake or aiming to lose weight without sacrificing the sweetness of their baked goods.

Good taste: 

In terms of taste, allulose is soft and delicate, and the pure sweetness is very similar to high-purity sucrose, and the initial stimulation of taste buds is slightly faster than that of sucrose, and there is no bad taste during and after consumption. Its sweetness does not change with temperature, and it can show pure sweetness at various temperatures.

High stability: 

The structure and characteristics of allulose are extremely stable, with strong chemical inertness, and can maintain the original state under acidic or alkaline conditions, and the stability is higher than that of sucrose, which is convenient for use in foods rich in nutrients and complex sources of raw materials

Better antioxidant capacity:

In the field of food processing, the non-enzymatic reaction or saccharification of reducing sugars and protein lysine residues is called the Maillard reaction, which produces macromolecular protein cross-linked aggregates and small molecular substances that form various flavours, aromas and colours during food processing. Compared with fructose and sucrose, allulose and egg albumin not only form a better cross-linking structure through the Maillard reaction, improve the texture of food, but also generate substances with high antioxidant effect, which can reduce oxidative loss in food processing and storage. Adding allulose to aerated foods can enhance the foaming function of egg white protein and improve with increasing stirring time; In cakes, allulose produces a large number of antioxidants through the Maillard reaction, which effectively improves the quality of the cake.

Blood Sugar Management: 

Allulose does not impact blood sugar levels in the same way as traditional sugar. It is not metabolized by the body and does not contribute to the rise in blood glucose levels, making it suitable for people with diabetes or those following a low-glycemic diet.

Anti-inflammatory：

As an antioxidant, allulose inhibits oxidative damage caused by the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), reduces free radical levels and delays deterioration. Allulose acts as an anti-inflammatory agent that can inhibit ischemia-reperfusion injury and inhibit segmented production of neutrophils, showing potential medical value in the prevention and treatment of a variety of diseases.

Many countries label allulose with safety and health

What is the current approval and use of allulose in the international food sector?

Since 2011, a number of companies in the Americas have applied to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the certification of allulose, "generally recognized as safe (GRAS)".

In 2011, CJ CheilJedang applied to the FDA for GRAS certification, which was approved in June 2012, recognizing allulose as a food additive.

Matsuya Group also applied to the FDA for GRAS certification of its product allulose, which was approved in 2014, and the FDA replied that human experiments showed that a daily intake of 31-33 grams of allulose did not have any side effects. Since then, allulose has been classified as a regular carbohydrate substitute and does not pose any safety concerns.

Since 2017, Samyang Group has applied for GRAS certification for allulose catalyzed by isomerases from different sources as a food additive and has been approved.

In 2019, the British Taylor's Group also applied for GRAS certification. Since then, allulose has gradually gained market recognition in the Americas.

In April 2019, the FDA announced that it excluded allulose from the "added sugar" and "total sugar" labels and calculated the energy of allulose at 0.4 kcal/gram. This notice means that the restrictions on the use of allulose will be further relaxed.

In the relevant declaration, allulose can be used as a sugar substitute for bakery products such as bread, cakes, pies, pastries, and biscuits, as well as carbonated drinks, non-carbonated drinks and mixed coffee and other beverage products; in addition, it can also be used for chewing gum, hard candy, gummies (including non-chocolate, pure chocolate, chocolate coating), desserts, frozen dairy products, yoghurt, medical food, ready-to-eat cereals and other foods.

Bakery market cases

Beyond Better Foods' brand Enlightened has launched a line of sugar-free ready-to-eat biscuits formulated with allulose, monk fruit extract and HealthSense high-fibre wheat flour that contains 10 times more dietary fibre than conventional wheat flour. Each serving contains 2g net carbs and 0g sugar.

SkinnyDipped has launched baked sandwich snacks that contain 63%-67% less sugar than similar brands and are formulated with a mixture of sucrose and allulose.

Allulose: Baked food is the main application scenario

It is not difficult to find that allulose is widely used as a natural sweetener in many baked food applications. In the United States, D-psicose has been recognized by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as a generally recognized safe (GRAS) ingredient and can be used in food.

D-psicose has a taste and sweetness similar to sucrose, but it contains low calories, basically does not participate in metabolism, and has the effect of lowering blood sugar. In addition, it can improve the gel degree of food, improve the flavour of food, and can also undergo Maillard reaction with protein in food, improve the colour of food, improve the antioxidant capacity of food, and increase the shelf life of food, etc., It has obvious advantages in the application of baked goods.

Globally, there are not many D-psicose manufacturers, mainly concentrated in Japan, the United States, Europe, and South Korea. At present, domestic enterprises are actively applying for D-psicose to enter the new resource food catalogue, and it is expected to obtain approval from relevant national departments in the near future to promote the further development of D-psicose production.