Added sugar has been identified as the culprit of numerous health problems, from fatty liver and heart disease to premature ageing and hair loss. It will take little to convince anyone who's had a decadent slice of chocolate cake or a tomatoey bowl of spaghetti bolognese that sugar makes everything taste better. Like its savoury counterpart, salt, sugar enhances foods' natural flavours and texture.
Despite its benefits to recipes, health-conscious consumers increasingly steer clear of added sugars and fructose. Food manufacturers have responded by substituting sugar with plant derivatives like stevia or erythritol. While these alternatives bring similar sweetness to recipes, they lack sugar's textural and caramelising properties.
Food makers face the challenge of maintaining the integrity of their recipes while delivering healthier products to consumers. The pushing isn't driven solely by market demand. Among the driving forces for healthier alternatives includes the FDA's new push towards new regulations that redefine the sugar, whole foods and fibre content in health foods.
In response to shifting consumer demands, Kraft Heinz has enlisted the help of the Wyss Institute of Harvard to come up with a way to mitigate some of the side effects of sugar.
Working together for over two years, the two are in the lab testing stage of a discovery that is said to be able to convert sugar to fibres post-consumption.
"Beyond just finding a solution that was technically sound, it was equally important to us that our solution would actually work in the real world of food manufacturing, because something that only works in lab conditions isn't very useful," said Adama Sesay, PhD, Wyss Institute's senior engineer.
Scientists at Wyss Institute have engineered an enzyme that mimics how plants convert sugar into fibre. Wyss' report suggests that the enzyme can withstand heat and other food processing conditions and is released only when it reaches a pH level similar to that of stomach acid.
This research works in tandem with Kraft Heinz's goal to reduce sugar use by 60 million pounds by 2025. According to its website, the global food manufacturer oversees the production of more than 4,400 products across its 200 brands and sells a million boxes of macaroni and cheese a day. This discovery can have a more significant impact on the processed food industry as a whole.
Furthermore, according to scientists at Wyss, the enzymes and their probiotics can also positively impact gut health.
Also see: Interest in plant-based meats is plunging fast- here's why