A yogurt a day keeps the doctor away – at least that is the healthy image that we would prefer to believe for dairy products. Unfortunately, the sugar levels in yogurts have reached levels where consumers compare yogurts to soft drinks and candy! An average pot of yogurt contains 12% sugar, and many of them contain even more. This creates concerns for the consumers, health practitioners and ultimately, the producers of yogurt.

Dairy manufacturers under pressure to reduce sugar
Health organizations, governments and retailers are setting objectives to reduce sugar in foods while consumers are increasingly focusing on sugar content and looking for healthy, natural products that taste great. This means dairy manufacturers are experiencing pressure to reduce added sugar in their products, especially in yogurt.
But finding healthy and tasty solutions to reduce sugar can be challenging. Most alternatives have drawbacks; for example, artificial sweeteners are perceived to be unhealthy, and more recent development on natural sugar alternatives have issues with off-flavor.
Natural solutions for less added sugar
Chr. Hansen’s natural solutions enable dairy producers to create meaningful reduction of sugar and ensure delicious dairy products with an authentic taste.

• Sweety® is a culture solution using only S. thermophilus and L. bulgaricus. It converts the existing sugars in milk, using more of the lactose and yielding glucose – which provides a greater sweetness intensity. This means that product developers can add less sugar and still get the same sweet-tasting product, resulting in a healthier product offering.
• NOLA® Fit is a highly efficient, cost-attractive innovative enzyme solution that allows dairy producers to reduce or remove lactose – and simultaneously reduce added sugar in yogurt by at least 1-1.5 g per 100g of yogurt without impacting the sweetness of the final product.

Read the full article here: https://foodbusinessgulf.com/2020/10/reduce-added-sugar-in-fermented-dairy-products-naturally/