FDBusiness.com

A guide for small sized companies has been published by the Food & Drink Federation (FDF). These types of companies are considering cutting sugar from their products, “but don’t know where to start to take the first step”.

The free reformulation guide was produced for FDF by Leatherhead Food Research and has been published at a time when shoppers are increasingly looking to reduce the amount of sugars in their diet, the trade association said.

The new guidance sets out the regulatory framework covering the reduction of sugars, key considerations when reducing sugars or using sugar replacers, and factors affecting the consumer acceptability of sugar replacers. The guide covers the different challenges and opportunities in reducing sugars in the soft drinks, dairy and baked goods categories, and also discusses ingredient and labelling considerations.

Among the advice is a set of criteria for including the claims “low-sugar”, “sugar-free”, “no added sugars” and “energy-reduced”.

“Various reformulation options are available, including changing the ratio of product components, depending on the product category and regulatory constraints. A key consumer consideration is to be aware of the energy content of any reformulated products; this should not increase as a result of reducing sugars,” the report said.

FDF director general Ian Wright said: “Our member companies are constantly innovating to meet the demand from shoppers and consumers for great-tasting, nutritious and affordable foods and drinks. Sugars reduction is a major focus as consumers look increasingly closely at the sugars in their diets. This presents both challenges and opportunities. Recipe changes need to pass the consumer acceptance test to be successful, lasting and beneficial to consumer health. FDF is committed to giving our members – particularly small and medium sized businesses without large R&D resources – the help they need to reformulate their products successfully.”

Jenny Arthur, head of nutrition and product development for Leatherhead Food Research and co-author of the newly published guide, said: “Reformulating products is a challenging task, as sugars are multifunctional ingredients delivering a variety of roles in different products. We hope this guide will give companies practical advice to help them create products with an overall reduction in sugars, while still delivering on taste, texture and mouthfeel.”

The Food and Drink Federation (FDF) is the largest manufacturing sector of the UK food and drink industry. The FDF accounts for 16% of the total manufacturing sector by turnover and employ around 400,000 people in the UK across 6,620 businesses.