Sweeterra performs the same as conventional sweeteners

Food & Drink Technology
May 29, 2019
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Comet Bio, a manufacturer of healthy, sustainable and natural ingredients, has demonstrated its Sweeterra line of sweeteners are a comparable substitute for commercial syrups.

The assessments by Merlin Developments included sensory evaluation, nutritional comparisons and shelf stability tests in confectionery, baked goods, fruit preparations and beverages. In all products, the tests concluded Comet Bio’s ingredients performed functionally equivalent in taste and performance to standard commercial syrups. Comet Bio’s Sweeterra syrups have higher fibre, lower sugar and calories, and are more sustainable as they are made from crop leaves and stalks leftover after harvest.

“We are very excited by these results. They show we can offer food and beverage companies healthier and more sustainable ingredients that don’t require a trade-off in terms of taste or performance,” said Rich Troyer, CEO of Comet Bio. “Our sweeteners work great in cookies, bread, fruit chews, pies, nutrition bars, sports drinks and more, and will allow customers to strengthen their nutrition labels and sustainability claims.”

The research by Merlin Developments examined Comet Bio’s Sweeterra 63DE and 95DE syrups and concluded the following:

  • Sweeterra 63DE performed functionally equivalent, in terms of taste, heat stability, and binding relative to corn based 63DE syrup in pie filling, taffy chews, and cereal bars.
  • By simply swapping out corn syrup for Sweeterra 63DE, calories in taffy chews were reduced by nearly 20%, while total sugar was reduced by 7% and dietary fiber increased. Similar improvements in nutritional profiles were observed in the other products as well.
  • The functionality of Sweeterra 95DE is comparable to commercial corn-based 95DE in pie crust, sugar cookies, and white bread.
  • The taste of Sweeterra 95DE was indistinguishable from corn-based 95DE in terms of sweetness intensity, non-sweetness taste attributes, and temporal profile.
  • In a lemon/lime sports drink formulation, a panel of sensory experts found no significant taste difference between Sweeterra 95DE and corn-based dextrose across several attributes including sweetness, sourness, bitterness, saltiness, lemon and astringency

According to the Merlin Development report: “Comet’s 63DE syrup has strong functionality in all the applications tested. Substituting Comet syrup and solids for the conventional corn syrup and sugar used in applications such as taffy chews and cereal bars reduces calories, carbohydrates and sugar, and increases fibre.”

Comet Bio will be exhibiting at IFT 2019 in New Orleans beginning June 3, 2019 at booth #4929.