The Indian food industry is trying to make its products more diabetes-friendly by using sugar substitutes, reducing sugar content, and using sugar reduction technologies. However, there are potential drawbacks to each of these approaches. Sugar substitutes may have negative health effects, such as increasing the risk of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Reducing sugar content can often lead to a decrease in taste and texture, so food manufacturers may add more fat or salt, which can also be harmful to health. Sugar reduction technologies are a more promising approach, but they are still relatively new and not yet widely used. Let’s explore further.
Diabetes has become a global crisis that is increasing exponentially and will have lasting effects on global health for generations to come. As per the Indian Council of Medical Research – India Diabetes (ICMR INDIAB) study published in 2023, the prevalence of diabetes in India is 10.1 crores and is considerably higher than previously estimated. While the diabetes epidemic is stabilising in the more developed states of the country, it is still increasing in most other states. Thus, there are serious implications for the nation, warranting urgent state-specific policies and interventions to arrest the rapidly rising epidemic of metabolic Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in India.
To address this issue, the Indian food processing industry has a wide portfolio of so-called ‘diabetes-friendly’ food products. Many of these innovations are fibre and protein-fortified foods. The Indian market has seen the entry of many fibre-enriched supplements and protein supplements claiming to be beneficial for diabetes. Even millets have found their way into the diabetes food market and innovations are increasingly piling up on the shelf.
Other than these products in the market, the players have also been experimenting with their ingredients to make them diabetes-friendly. Some are launching low- to no-sugar products while some are going completely sugar-free. Efforts are visible, but are they reliable? We found out certain common approaches that are not so diabetes friendly but are worsening the health condition in some or another way.
Let’s take a look at a few initiatives that the Indian food players have adopted that claim to combat diabetes in the nation.
Sugar-free isn’t always Sugar-less
Consumers tend to think that sugar is mainly found in desserts like cookies and cakes, but it’s also found in many savoury foods, such as bread and pasta sauce. And some foods promoted as “natural”, “sugar-free”, or “healthy” are laden with added sugars, compounding the confusion.
According to the University of California, San Francisco, manufacturers add sugar to 74 per cent of packaged foods sold in supermarkets. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requires food producers to list all ingredients in their foods. But it’s harder for common consumers to find sugar on the ingredients label who are unaware of more than 60 names of sugar or more precisely, ‘added sugar’. Most of the consumers are aware of common names, such as sucrose and high-fructose corn syrup, as well as barley malt, dextrose, maltose, and rice syrup, among others. But what about the huge list that comes after these? Hence, even if the product is claimed to be sugar-free and is still sweet, it has to have some or other form of sugar in it.
While product labels list total sugar content, manufacturers are not required to say whether that total includes added sugar, which makes it difficult to know how much of the total comes from added sugar and how much is naturally occurring in ingredients such as fruit or milk. That makes it very difficult to account for how much-added sugar is present in the food product.
To name a few examples in the Indian food industry following this approach, the Dabur Chyawanprakash “Sugar-free” contains sorbitol and sucralose which are nothing but added sugars and the label still claims that ‘No sugar’ has been added to the product.
Another example is Horlicks Women’s Plus which claims to have “No Added Sugar”, but has Maltodextrin, another hidden sugar ingredient.
In the case of a number of popular fruit-based products, notably fruit juices and smoothies, all of the sugars come from fruit, so they are termed natural. However, the manufacturers significantly alter the fruit’s properties. In doing so, they have changed the way our bodies process the sugar contained in the fruit, which has key health implications.
Mary Gearing, Associate Director, Medical Communications at Foundation Medicine, North Carolina, said, “Unfortunately, the metabolic effects of orange juice are very different from those of the fruit. Orange juice does retain the vitamins found in oranges, but the fibre content is very different. During juice processing, fibre is usually filtered out or pulverised, reducing its beneficial, pro-satiety effects. The juice’s dissolved sugar is thus efficiently absorbed by the small intestine and enters the blood quickly. Consuming juice raises your blood sugar rapidly; after the subsequent blood sugar “crash,” you’ll soon be hungry again. Eating fruit also raises your blood sugar levels, but in a slow and controlled manner, promoting fullness and preventing overconsumption. Metabolically speaking, juice is much more similar to soda than it is to whole fruit.”
The ‘No sugar approach’
Artificial sweeteners, also known as sugar replacers or sugar substituents or non-sugar sweeteners (NSS), have become an important part of everyday life and are increasingly used nowadays in a variety of dietary and medicinal products by manufacturers. They provide far more intense sweetness than sugar-containing products and are used by a plethora of population subsets for varying objectives.
Commenting on the increasing adoption of sugar replacers by Indian food producers, K. Jayaraj Rao, Principal Scientist, National Dairy Research Institute, Bengaluru, said, “ Use of artificial sweeteners in food products started ever since saccharin was discovered more than a century ago. In spite of some apprehensions about the impact on health, they are being widely sold in the market and even find legal sanction for use of some of them for edible purposes. Now, they are being tried in almost all the sweet products to replace sugar as a sweetener. In some products, such replacement is successful, while in some it is not because of flavour and stability-related problems. Some food producers are trying to promote the use of sweeteners by eliciting the synergistic action among the sweeteners. Milk based sweets are extremely popular in India and several efforts are being made to produce the sweets using artificial sweeteners in place of sugar.”
They are claimed to promote weight loss and are deemed safe for consumption by diabetics; however, there is inconclusive evidence to support most of their uses and some recent studies even hint that these earlier established benefits regarding artificial sweeteners use might not be true. In May this year, the World Health Organisation (WHO) had warned against artificial sweeteners stating that these products do not help in weight loss and can in fact increase the risk of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. The WHO report based on over 280 studies suggested that “NSS should not be used as a means of achieving weight control or reducing the risk of non-communicable diseases.”
As per the recent survey (July 2023) by LocalCircles, a community social media platform, about 38 per cent of urban Indians confirm consuming foods with artificial sweeteners each month. Commenting on this alarming per cent of the population consuming artificial sweeteners in India, Sachin Taparia, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, LocalCircles said, “It must be noted here that a large number of products are available in the market now, which by default contain artificial sweeteners and are being heavily consumed by not only adults but even children. Recently, it was reported on LocalCircles how a globally popular health sports drink was regularly being consumed by children 7-18 regularly in Indian metros. The product contains sucralose and steviol glycoside and just says zero sugar on the packaging. Heavily marketed directly and indirectly amongst children and priced at an attractive Rs 50, many parents without realising the long-term damage caused are buying it regularly for their wards.”
Lowering sugar content (but sneaking fats/salts!)
In his bestseller book, Salt Sugar Fat, Michael Moss, Author, Penguin Random House, US wrote “Any improvement to the nutritional profile of a product can in no way diminish its allure, and this had led to one of the industry’s most devious moves: lowering one bad boy ingredient like fat while quietly adding more sugar to keep people hooked.” Adding more sugar while lowering the fat content or adding extra fat while decreasing the amount of sugar, either way, consumers are definitely not on the bright side. Then what’s the ultimate health benefit of all such strategies?
These contradictory trends support the contention that policies focusing on reducing a single nutrient (such as sugar) may not lead to overall healthier products because companies may compensate for deterioration in taste by increasing levels of unhealthy nutrients. Food producers worldwide have been playing this game for quite a long time.
Attaining the ‘bliss point’ of the consumers is the ultimate goal of the food producers. In a bid to attain it and to be in the competition, there would always be a compromising factor on the health side. The food processors continue to manipulate the taste buds with such strategies, so it’s high time that the Indian food industry should look into other alternatives. The industry has two options – Buying innovative sugar reduction technologies invented by global players or investing in R&D to develop such technologies domestically.
Sugar reduction tech
Contrary to earlier discussed alternatives like added sugars or artificial sweeteners, sugar reduction technologies in food processing have been playing a vital role in combating diabetes worldwide. Many global companies have recently come up with innovative technologies related to sugar reduction.
In July 2023, Nestlé introduced a versatile and cost-effective sugar-reduction technology that can be applied across different product categories, with benefits beyond sugar reduction. It can also be used to produce low-lactose and skimmed milk-based products while reducing total sugars. Using an enzymatic process, it reduces intrinsic sugar in ingredients such as malt, milk, and fruit juices by up to 30 per cent, with a minimal impact on taste and texture. The sugar-reduced ingredients are then used in recipes for various products without a need to add sweeteners or bulking agents to replace the volume of the eliminated sugar. Nestlé has already introduced it in factory lines for cocoa and malt-based powdered beverages such as Milo across several countries across Asia, Africa, and Latin America.
Stefan Palzer, Chief Technology Officer and Executive Vice President at Nestlé said, “Sugar reduction across our portfolio remains a top priority. This new technology is a true breakthrough, as we can reduce sugar without adding sweeteners while preserving a great taste, all at a minimal cost increase. In addition, our scientists discovered that the sugar reduction generates prebiotic fibres that support the microbiome, which is an additional benefit. We are now accelerating the global roll-out across formats and categories.”
Another big name in the industry, Mondelēz, in December 2022, unveiled its new technology that could support the creation of lower-sugar, fat and calorie-versions of its chocolate bars. According to Mondelēz, the new tech could remove up to 75 per cent of the sugar and fat from some of its chocolate and biscuit products. The company’s food scientists and researchers collaborated across its R&D sites in Reading, Birmingham, Europe and the US to develop a unique way to replace the sugar and fats contained in chocolate bars and biscuit fillings with plant-based fibres.
Rimi Obra-Ratwatte, European lead nutrition strategy and communications at Mondelēz International, said, “Our product portfolio strategies and initiatives at Mondelēz International are underpinned by a robust team of nutritionists who partner with our scientists and product developers to guide our approach and ensure that we deliver credible and meaningful choices for our consumers. Creating treats which are non-HFSS (high in fat, salt or sugar) has taken years of careful development, and it is a proud moment to have new technology that can help evolve our portfolio with new products which further enable consumers to treat and snack in a more mindful way.”
In April 2023, in partnership with GEA Group, one of the largest suppliers of food processing technology, Israel-headquartered food tech startup Better Juice, Ltd. announced its highly successful completion of a series of pilot trials for reducing simple sugars in natural berry and other fruit juices. With GEA Group, Better Juice hosted several prominent berry fruit juice manufacturers from Europe, USA, Australia, and Brazil to give their personal brands a sugar-reduction makeover using their groundbreaking sugar-reduction technology. During the trials, the team was able to reduce the simple sugar content by 30 per cent and 50 per cent across a range of fruit juices, including strawberry, cherry, and blueberry, while preserving their characteristic flavours and textures.
“We were able to produce juices with the same nutritional value and mouthfeel as the original products, with only a slightly toned-down sweetness,” reported Gali Yarom, Co-Founder and Co-CEO, Better Juice. “The feedback was most promising, with several companies expressing a strong interest in continuing to work with us to bring these products to market. We are currently in advanced discussions with several major US-based fruit juice companies to install our technology in their juice production systems. We project sugar-reduced berry fruit juices will reach the shelves early next year.”
Some global players like Kerry and BENEO have, however, not come up with the technology but the ingredients sound potentially promising in the sugar reduction space. Launched in June 2023, with next generation Tastesense Advanced range of solutions, Kerry is aiming at transforming the low and zero-sugar product market. This is an affordable alternative to sugar and stevia, supporting the development of sweetness closer to sugar and well beyond 3⁰ Brix sucrose sweetness equivalence, with optimised flavour, better mouthfeel and reduced off-notes. Kerry claims that this solution provides high levels of sugar reduction, reaching beyond 50 per cent. It contains plant-derived materials and also reduces carbon emissions by 30 per cent and water usage by 45 per cent while catering to consumers’ demand for superior-tasting and healthier food options.
On the other hand, BENEO, one of the leading manufacturers of functional ingredients, announced the expansion of its portfolio with the launch of Beneo-scL85, a short-chain fructooligosaccharide (scFOS). The new variant offers customers greater versatility for sugar replacement and enrichment of foods with dietary fibre.
A wake-up call
According to the Data Bridge Market Research, the global sugar reduction technology market is expected to reach $46,491.44 million by 2030, at a CAGR of 10.2 per cent during the forecast period 2023-30. Two main segments in which the global sugar reduction technology market can be segmented are- alternative types such as artificial sweeteners (naturally derived sweeteners, sugar alcohols, sweetness modulators, etc.) and technology (enzymatic conversion, extraction technology, flavour delivery technology, and others). According to our analysis of the Indian food industry, the food producers are mainly investing in alternative types. However, it’s high time for the Indian food industry to look for generous investments in the R&D of sugar reduction technologies. The collaborative efforts of industry, government, and academia can be significantly beneficial in this regard. Resourcing funding towards this path can do wonders for the Indian food processing industry and hence for the diabetes-prone people around the nation.
Other than fostering R&D interventions, the government can play an important role in creating relevant labelling policies for food products containing artificial sweeteners. A survey from LocalCircles revealed that around 90 per cent of respondents want food brands to be made to display the use of artificial sweeteners (if applicable) prominently on the front of the pack. Given the apparent misconception among people that artificial sweeteners are less of an evil compared to sugar, gur or honey and they are a good option for those with diabetes or those desiring to lose weight, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) and the government should mount a campaign to educate people on the issue while directing the processed food companies to prominently display all relevant information about the sweeteners used and its possible negative impact on health. Moreover, on the industry’s part, producers have to be more watchful about their claims and avoid strategies that blind consumers to the health effects of sugar-containing products.
Moreover, a different aspect of structural inequities among the Indian diabetes patient population can’t be overlooked while asking the industry to be more vigilant about their practices. Food high in fibre is generally considered a healthier option for the diabetes population however such diets are expensive, making Indians more prone to diabetes. Making such food (fish, fruits, and vegetables) more affordable and accessible is critical at this point.
Mansi Jamsudkar