Application Trend of Sucralose in Canned Products

1. Characteristics of sucralose

Sucralose is a non nutritive high power sweetener made from sucrose. Its sweetness is 550-750 times as much as that of sucrose. It has pure sweet taste without any peculiar or bitter taste. Its sweet characteristic curve almost overlaps with that of sucrose. Sucralose is a white to nearly white crystalline powder product, odorless, non hygroscopic, stable to light, heat and pH, easily soluble in water (solubility 28.2g, 20 ℃), ethanol and methanol. The viscosity of sucralose aqueous solution is similar to that of sucrose, with good hydrophilicity. It is not easy to produce bubbles when dissolved, easy to dilute, and does not affect the product processing technology. Sucralose is almost unabsorbed in the human body. Its caloric value is zero, which will not cause blood sugar fluctuations and dental caries. It can be eaten by patients with obesity, cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

The safety of sucralose is high. The permanent ADI value of sucralose approved by FAO/WHO is 15mg/kg body weight. Approved by the American Food and Drug Administration (FDA), it was put into the market in 1988 and approved for use in China in July 1997. At present, sucralose has been approved for use by more than 120 countries such as the United States, the European Union and Japan. It is the preferred sweetener for formula improvement and new product development by major companies around the world. The United States and Japan are the most mature countries for the application of sucralose, and their laws and regulations are very perfect. The FDA of the United States stipulates that sucralose can be added in food and beverages in an appropriate amount. Although Japanese regulations have certain limits, it can be used in all food and beverages. Sucralose brings safe, healthy and sweet life to human beings. It has been approved by various countries for its application, has a high degree of recognition in the industry, and is recognized and accepted by food enterprises and consumers. China has approved sucralose as a food additive since the 1990s. However, due to the technical monopoly and high price of sucralose products, the research on sucralose application in China started late and is still in the primary stage of development.

2. Application technology of sucralose in canned products

The application of sucralose as a sweetener in canned products, with the maximum addition of 0.25g/Kg, can improve the taste of canned products, cover up the astringent, sour and other unpleasant tastes of different products, and greatly reduce the cost of canned products, which is recognized by the majority of large canning enterprises nationwide. As we all know, canned food is a high sweet food. Due to its high sucrose content, it is not suitable for excessive consumption, especially for obese people and people with diabetes, which limits the market capacity of canned products and becomes one of the barriers to the development of the canned industry. Sucralose has the taste of white sugar and no energy. Its product safety and excellent processing characteristics have been recognized by experts from enterprises all over the world. It is the first choice for the application and research and development of low sugar food.

The R&D team conducted a preliminary study on the application of sucralose in canned products (see Table 1 for the formula). The results showed that the application of sucralose in canned products could not only reduce the production cost of enterprises and reduce the energy of products, but also make the taste of canned products clearer, with sweet aftertaste and slightly delayed sweetness, which was popular with consumers and major enterprises. In particular, the use of sucralose in canned water can minimize the production cost and reduce the sugar content of the product, giving more people who love canned fruits but are afraid of consuming too much calories a better choice. At the same time, some studies have shown that the complete use of sucralose in Baltic cans can make the product taste sour and sweet, refreshing, sweet but not greasy, and not sour after eating. Because sucralose has very good stability, it will not affect the processing technology of cans, and there will be no sweetness decline during the storage period, it is considered to be a good choice for low sugar and high sweet canned products.

 

Fig. 1 Application of sweeteners in canned products

 

　　The data above is from Mintel. It can be seen from the data that the category of products using sucralose as high power sweetener is higher than other high power sweeteners in the world's canned products, indicating that sucralose has good advantages and application prospects in canned products and has been widely recognized.

 

Table 1 Formula of canned sugar water

3. Application Trend of Sucralose in Canned Products

 

图2 三氯蔗糖在全球的应用趋势

 

　　三氯蔗糖在每年新产品中呈高速递增趋势，其产品特性在食品应用领域具有绝对的优势和良好的市场发展前景。图2数据源于Mintel，由此可见，目前三氯蔗糖在日本、美国市场发展迅速，被广泛应用于各行各业，远远领先其他国家和地区，欧洲及南美区域次之。中国、印度等均是世界人口大国，但对三氯蔗糖的认知和使用仍然处于初级发展阶段，仍需企业进行更深入的宣传和推广，但其市场潜力巨大，捷康公司作为中国最大、世界第二大的三氯蔗糖专业生产厂商，将会一直致力于更好的推广三氯蔗糖这一优质健康的高倍甜味剂产品，促进人类生活更加甜美。

 

Fig. 3 Distribution of sucralose in canned products worldwide

 

From the regional distribution map of canned products containing sucralose, it can be seen that sucralose is relatively mature in the United States market and growing rapidly, followed by Chile, Mexico, Canada and other countries. The Chinese market has developed rapidly in recent years. More and more canned products have started to use sucralose, which has laid a foundation for sucralose to fully open the Chinese canned products market. At present, the demand for low sugar cans in Europe, America and South America is high, so the development of sucralose in these regions is relatively fast, and people's acceptance and recognition are also high. Although the market development in other countries and regions is slow, a lot of market promotion still needs to be invested, but the market potential of sucralose in the world is still unpredictable.
With the continuous innovation of the requirements of food quality standards, the requirements for fine processing and product quality control of canned products are getting higher and higher. In recent years, the development of the can industry has encountered great difficulties. The rising cost of raw materials, human resources and transportation costs have led to the high price of canned products, which is far beyond the psychological expectations of the canned consumers. This undoubtedly has caused great harm to the canned enterprises. Therefore, innovative development and breaking the deadlock are the focus of every enterprise. As one of the important raw material costs, white sugar will inevitably become the driving force to promote the development of the can industry if a new type of sweetener with the best taste, suitable for the production and processing process of canned products and able to bring maximum benefits to enterprises is selected. The application of sucralose in canned products has obvious advantages, which can improve the taste, reduce product calories, and promote the development of food towards safety and health. At the same time, it is highly cost saving, improves enterprise income, expands the range of product application groups, and greatly reduces the resistance to enterprise development. Therefore, the development potential of sucralose in the can industry will have absolute advantages and unlimited space.