KANSAS CITY — Sweet is one of the five basic tastes perceived by the gustatory cells on the tongue. The tastes are universal, regardless of cuisine. Flavor, on the other hand, is a combination of taste, aroma and mouthfeel. The growing science of “sugary flavor” is enabling formulators to reduce and perhaps even remove all added sugars — caloric, carbohydrate macronutrients — from foods and beverages yet maintain the sweetness many consumers demand.

“Sugar reduction is a lasting trend, one that will continue to be important as consumers take steps to prioritize their health in the wake of COVID-19,” said Cecilia Pereyra, global product marketing for flavors, IFF, South Brunswick, NJ. “Natural solutions to reduce sugar will stand out in the market, especially as many consumers are wary of artificial sweeteners. Novel processing techniques, as well as formulating with ingredients that are naturally lower in sugar, are important tools to explore for sugar reduction.”

Formulators are exploring the tools to balance nutrition and flavor, all while keeping ingredient statements short and simple. The goal is to deliver enough sweet taste to satisfy, which requires manipulating aroma and mouthfeel to provide the brightness and body associated with sugary flavor.

When removing some or all added sugars, the first step is often to add a non-sugar sweetener. Today’s formulators have a range of artificial and natural options available, with the trend toward using the latter. The list of options includes allulose, monkfruit and stevia, along with sugar alcohols, most notably, erythritol.

“Each of these sweetening systems, along with the addition of any functional ingredients or bases, come with flavor challenges, such as bitterness, lingering, metallic notes, cooling notes, aftertaste and even texture/mouthfeel,” said Arti Shah, global head of marketing, HealthTech BioActives, West Chester, Ohio.

Zareena Valappil, senior technical director and chief global flavorist, ADM, Chicago, said, “Sweetening ingredients and flavor technologies work together as the base of successful formulations. As traditional ingredients are removed or replaced, the need to recreate the full taste experience is crucial.”

At this point in the product development process, flavors with modifying properties (FMPs) come into play, a category of non-characterizing flavors that has emerged to assist formulators with reducing sugar and salt without compromising flavor. They function by modifying the flavor profile by altering attributes, such as intensifying specific tastes and aromas while reducing others.

In the United States, the Expert Panel of the Flavor and Extract Manufacturers Association of the United States (FEMA) evaluates new flavor ingredients, including FMPs, to determine if they may be considered “generally recognized as safe” (GRAS) for their intended use as flavor ingredients. FEMA does not evaluate substances for other uses in food, like sweetening the food. Thus, all flavor ingredients, including FMPs, may only function to impart, enhance or modify flavor in a finished food product under conditions of intended use.

To ensure an FMP does not have inherent sweetness or saltiness, it undergoes sensory recognition threshold testing for the two specific tastes. Like other flavor ingredients, FMPs are labeled on ingredient panels as artificial, natural, or natural and artificial flavor.

“Most of our FMPs can be labeled as natural flavors,” Mr. Shah said. “They are derived from citrus and extracted and purified with water and zero excipients.”

Tate & Lyle, Hoffman Estates, Ill., offers a range of FMPs to modify flavor in beverage, dairy and nutrition products. The amount and type of protein in nutrition bars and beverages may pose flavor challenges, especially when single plant proteins are used.

“Natural flavors are effective in the nutrition category, as they can enhance flavor such as vanilla, while masking the protein aftertaste,” said Papao Saisnith, senior director-global marketing and innovation for sugar and calorie reduction at Tate & Lyle. “The most common issue when formulating low- and no-added-sugar dairy products lies within yogurt fruit preparations. Consumers expect yogurt fruit to have a sweet fruity flavor and minimal bitterness or acidity.”

Tate & Lyle offers an allulose-based flavor that acts as a flavor modifier when used at sub-sweet levels. It is labeled as natural flavor and is FEMA GRAS approved for use as flavoring in non-alcoholic beverages, alcoholic beverages and milk products to mask bitter notes and enhance flavor notes.

“It has been shown to enhance the perception of certain flavors in beverages, such as caramel,” Ms. Saisnith said. “We also have a stevia-based flavor that enables clean taste and labels as natural flavor. It can be used alone or in combination with sweeteners to improve overall flavor quality and reduce bitterness and lingering. It works well in strawberry Greek yogurt.”

Kerry, Beloit, Wis., offers an organic certified taste and sweetness modulator. It is available in a powder form for addition and rapid dissolution in foods and beverages.

“It functions by going beyond sugar reduction and into sweetness satisfaction,” said Leigh-Anne Vaughan, senior marketing director-taste at Kerry. “We had a customer that needed to improve mouthfeel of an organic pea protein. With this ingredient, there was a big improvement in taste and mouthfeel. It made a big impact on the goal of improving mouthfeel and did not require a lot of re-formulation from research and development.”

Cargill, Minneapolis, offers a range of flavors with modifying properties, which when coupled with an optimized sweetener system, may provide great flavor masking and enhancing properties, said Smaro Kokkinidou, principal food scientist. The company combines its stevia with a natural flavor to address taste, flavor, mouthfeel and other functionality, such as solubility and dissolution.

“At the same time, it helps manage off flavors from other ingredients used in formulations, including earthy and beany notes from plant-based proteins, bitterness from caffeine or vitamins, or metallic tastes from potassium chloride or other minerals,” Ms. Kokkinidou said. “It also enhances characterizing flavor profiles, including light, fruity notes and rich chocolatey tones, and has a great impact on mouthfeel perceptions, especially in no-sugar-added formulations.”

IFF’s sugary flavor technologies include an option that is designed to modulate the sweetness perception of a low-sugar product without the need to use artificial sweeteners. Alternatively, when artificial sweeteners are present, it may reduce or even neutralize off-notes, such as bitterness and licorice or sour notes in the final product. The company’s portfolio includes a flavor that can provide the fullness and body needed to enhance authenticity in sugar-reduced products by creating the taste experience that full-sugar products can deliver.

“The best solutions will be achieved when our flavor technologies — sweet, masking and mouthfeel — are combined to deliver the optimal tasty experience consumers expect in a low- or no-sugar product,” said Midey Gonzalez Azofeifa, global innovation director-modulation at IFF.

Manipulating formulations

Sugary flavor also may be enhanced by manipulating calorie carbohydrate sweeteners, a process that may be done with or without other technologies.

Sucrose, the primary sweetener extracted from sugar beet and sugar cane, is used as the sweetening reference point with a score of 100. It is a disaccharide composed of glucose and fructose. The monosaccharides have an average sweetness of 77% and 150%, respectively, of sucrose. Thus, sweetening a food or beverage with fructose provides more sugary flavor, which Gabriel Pereira, senior manager-business development, Kerr by Ingredion, Salem, Ore., refers to as brightness.

“Fructose is perceived as sweeter than sucrose or glucose gram-for-gram,” she said. “By selecting fruit ingredients made from pear, apple, blueberry or plum, you can reach formula sweetness targets with less total sugar added.

“Knowing this, we are putting increased development emphasis on sugar reduction in our juices and purees, and not through simple dilution with water. We are working on a proprietary process for 2024 that will maintain flavor and as many of the desirable nutritional compounds as possible and will also allow manufacturers to make a 100% juice claim.”

The process may result in a “sweetened with 100% juice claim.” The company currently makes highly concentrated purees as well as essences, both of which may be used to deliver intense flavor impact and offset some of the organoleptic challenges caused by sugar reduction.

In dairy applications, sugary flavor may be boosted by breaking down inherent lactose using the lactase enzyme. Lactose is a disaccharide composed of glucose and galactose, both of which are sweeter tasting than lactose. The process also may allow for a reduction in added sugars, while at the same time making the product easier to digest for those with lactose intolerances or sensitivities.

Arnold Coombs, executive director of sales and marketing, Bascom Maple Farms, Alstead, NH, suggests adding pure maple to formulations. It helps add a fuller body of flavor to final products, with that profile helping to offset a reduction in sugar.

“Pure maple has a subtle flavor, unlike maple flavoring, hence a lighter grade of maple syrup can be used to sweeten a product without altering the flavor profile,” Mr. Coombs said. “It is sweeter than some other sugars, so less can be used in most formulas without altering the final product.”

Adding richness is another approach to boosting sugary flavor. That’s what Butter Buds Inc., Racine, Wis., offers.

“Our products are not used to directly replace sugar,” said David Anderson, applications manager. “Instead, we offer products with butter or dairy profiles that range from caramelized or sweet browned butter to sweeter dairy cream profiles. These products provide a depth of dairy richness that help uphold that tasty experience while reducing sugar levels. Other products are designed for mouthfeel, such as our dried cream extract, which masks off-notes and textures associated with alternative sweeteners.”

Jessica Lopez, flavor chemist, Wixon, St. Francis, Wis., said, “When working with profiles not in the indulgent category, adding a low level of a vanilla, cream, honey or sweet brown flavor to where it’s not discernible can help mask any lingering off notes and increase perception in sweetness and mouthfeel.”

Wixon offers natural high-intensity sweeteners synergistically combined with natural flavors for a single-system approach to boosting sugary flavor. Options are “monkfruit, natural flavor” and “stevia, natural flavor.” The natural flavor also is available on its own.

Mohammad Emami, director of marketing and business development, Bartek Ingredients, Stoney Creek, Ont., suggests manipulated acids and buffers to enhance sugary flavor.

“Acids lower pH, which can lead to functional issues, such as sugar inversion and loss of product structure,” he said. “Buffers are used to regulate pH, but they also have an ability to impact flavor. Our portfolio of buffers not only ensures precise pH control, even with higher acid levels, but also unlocks untapped flavor potentials.”

The company’s newest taste modification technology — sodium malate — heightens taste intensity and complexity, while providing longer-lasting flavor, according to the company. It originally was formulated for gummies and jellies, but is showing promise in other categories, such as beverages.

“Regardless of the gelling agent, (gummy) formulators can now deliver on consumer demands for taste, flavor, sourness and indulgence without relying on sugar as much,” Mr. Emami said. “(This buffer) enables formulators to enhance the onset, peak and linger of sour flavor profiles. They can also intensify juicy and tart notes and prolong a gummy’s presence throughout the chewing process.”

Technology in action

Several new no- and low-added sugar products in the market rely on natural flavors, with or without high-intensity sweeteners, or other technology, for desirable sugary flavor. Clover Sonoma, Petaluma, Calif., for example, debuted Clover the Rainbow Milk with a Splash of Flavor earlier this year.

Lactase enzyme is added to eliminate lactose and assist with natural sweetness. The chocolate variety has 2 grams of added cane sugar. It is formulated with cocoa and natural flavors. The strawberry variety has no added sugars. It is made with strawberry juice concentrate and natural flavors. Vanilla also has no added sugars. It is formulated with vanilla extract and natural flavors.

Just in time for back to school, Berkeley, Calif.-based Ripple Foods rolled out Ripple Kids Unsweetened Original. The plant-based milk uses soluble corn fiber and natural flavor to provide just enough sweetness and mouthfeel to gain the acceptance of young consumers.

Catalina Crunch, Wilmington, Del., uses a plethora of ingredients to achieve desirable sugary flavor in its two new low-sugar cereals: blueberry muffin with whole blueberries and honey nut with roasted almond. Both products have no added sugar thanks to the use of allulose, chicory root fiber, corn fiber, natural flavors and stevia.

And Conagra Brands, Chicago, now has a keto-friendly Swiss Miss hot cocoa mix with no added sugars. It relies on allulose, erythritol, natural flavors and stevia.