In Asia, the high consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages, including fruit juices, has been linked to significant health issues such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases. Many fruit juices, even those perceived as healthy, can contain as much sugar as soft drinks, leading to rapid spikes in blood sugar levels and contributing to long-term health problems. To address this, Tetra Pak has developed innovative solutions to reduce the sugar content in fruit juices. Their approach includes advanced technologies like membrane filtration, enzymatic sugar transformation, and yeast fermentation, which can lower the intrinsic sugars in juices to nearly zero. This allows for the production of healthier juice options without compromising on taste, helping to mitigate the adverse health impacts associated with high sugar consumption in the region.
Consumers are becoming more health-conscious than ever, veering away from food and beverage products with high-sugar content, and showing a shift towards plant-based alternatives . Subsequently, this has prompted F&B companies to consider reformulating products to create delicious beverages such as juices without relying on sugar and artificial sweeteners to align with new regulations and growing consumer demands. This has posed an industry challenge of reducing sugar while maintaining taste and nutritional value, prompting significant research and development efforts in this field.
John Jose, Marketing Director of Tetra Pak Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines, and Indonesia, said “Health and regulatory trends are spurring tremendous innovation within the F&B sector. We are always on the pulse of the consumer needs and ready to help our F&B customers solve challenges with our latest technology and expertise. With our advanced fermentation process, we can cut down the sugar content in juice significantly. This process allows us to create a juice that can be blended to meet any desired level of sweetness, without compromising on taste or quality.”
The whitepaper highlights that this approach has been validated through technical and consumer tests. It opens significant opportunities for the F&B industry to develop a new category of reduced-sugar juices and drinks. It also delves into the changing consumer attitudes towards sugar, provides an in-depth overview of the fermentation process, and explores the potential of this new beverage category.
Jose added: “We have over 70 years of experience in beverage production, delivering food processing and packaging equipment around the world. Given our extensive specialist knowledge and our innovative ability to combine technology with food application expertise, we are uniquely positioned to support our F&B partners in navigating the challenges of sugar reduction. Our reliable and practical approach towards the fermentation process represents yet another advancement in the field.”
If you would like to learn more, you can download the whitepaper from the Tetra Pak website.
Sources:
The sugar challenge | Tetra Pak USA. https://www.tetrapak.com/en-us/insights/cases-articles/the-sugar-challenge.
The sweet danger of sugar – Harvard Health. https://www.health.harvard.edu/heart-health/the-sweet-danger-of-sugar.
