Dive Brief:
- DuPont has developed a new pectin ingredient for use in low-sugar fruit spreads, jams, fruit preparations and ice cream without the need for calcium salts, Food Navigator reports.
- Natural variations in fruits’ calcium content can have a big impact on texture. Calcium salts are often used in low-sugar fruit products to help them set, to produce a more appealing texture and to improve the suspension of the fruit.
- DuPont’s new ingredient is called Grindsted Pectin Prime 541, and must be listed as “pectin” on food labels. The company says the lack of calcium salts helps clean up ingredient lists, without compromising product quality.
Dive Insight:
Cutting sugar is a major focus for food and drink makers, but lower sugar content can affect a product’s texture. Pectin, which is naturally found in fruits, is necessary to make jams and jellies set and is made on an industrial scale from the peel of citrus fruits. For fruits that are naturally low in pectin, such as strawberries, it is necessary to add pectin to the formulation — and manufacturers may also add extra pectin to allow for seasonal fluctuations in the pectin content of other fruits.
Even for homemade jams and jellies, the home cook can buy sugar that has pectin and citric acid included to ensure the mixture sets, meaning that pectin is a widely recognized store-cupboard ingredient. Calcium salts, like monosodium phosphate, not so much. Some fruits are naturally high in calcium, such as citrus fruits, and some calcium content is necessary to activate pectin to ensure jams and jellies set, especially if they are low in sugar.
DuPont said it had developed this latest pectin ingredient as a direct response to customer requests, with interest on the rise globally for lower sugar, clean label foods.
U.S. manufacturers have been given extra motivation to reduce sugar ahead of the updated Nutrition Facts panel, which must list added sugars by 2020. Consumers say they are looking for this information, and a recent Reuters/Ipsos poll found that three out of five used nutrition information labels to find out about sugar, calories, fat and salt in packaged food.