09 Mar 2015 EFSA okays erythritol for use in beverages
Supplier Jungbunzlauer has welcomed the revised EFSA statement as the most important milestone and pre-requisite for an extension of erythritol usage into the beverages category in Europe.
After many years of discussions of scientific studies for getting the positive opinion, EFSA finally concluded on new data filed that erythritol, at a maximum usage level of 1.6% in non-alcoholic beverages, is safe for the consumer and without adverse effects, including laxation.
“Where ever a sugar-free or sugar-reduced beverage is developed, erythritol can be a key ingredient to a sweetening system equivalent to sugar. Its versatility makes it so interesting as it contributes sweetness, gives body and enhances others sweeteners taste profile,” says Ferid Haji, Jungbunzlauer Product Group Manager Sweeteners told FoodIngredientsFirst.
“In combination with any high intense sweetener, erythritol’s great flavour-enhancing properties help to minimise e.g. sucralose’s lingering sweetness or stevia’s bitter after-note. Already 1.5% erythritol shifts the overall taste profile of a sugar-reduced soft drink or flavoured water version to its original sugar-like taste profile.”
The EC may now initiate the legislative process in order to allow erythritol for the formulation of sugar-reduced, non-alcoholic beverages. Best case, this approval could come still within 2015 and will finally give the European consumer access to a new generation of healthy and great tasting beverages as it can be seen in many markets, ie US, China, Japan, Russia, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Mexico, Korea, Thailand, Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong,Philippines, Israel and South Africa.
“Erythritol is approved in many important consumer markets since decades, e.g. the US, Japan, China, Australia to name a few. With the approval of steviol glycosides in the US, we have seen a big surge in erythritol’s usage. Being the only natural polyol produced by a natural fermentation process, erythritol is the most popular blending partner for the plant-derived sweetener steviol glycosides,” says Haji. “The combination offers a natural sugar alternative the consumer of today is looking for. In Japan, erythritol’s taste improvement properties are well known and have been exploited for two decades now. Therefore, it can be found in a wide variety of different beverage types ranging from carbonated soft drinks, healthy near waters and beauty drinks which are, for example, enriched with collagen.”
ERYLITE – Jungbunzlauer’s brand for erythritol – is a bulk sweetener with zero calories (EU) and a sugar-like taste profile and appearance. ERYLITE is made by Jungbunzlauer through yeast fermentation in its plant in Marckolsheim, France. The production process and the raw materials used (non-GMO carbohydrates) qualify ERYLITE to be the first and only natural polyol in the market. It also occurs naturally in a wide variety of foods, including many fruits and mushrooms, as well as in fermented foods such as cheese, wine and beer.
Supplier Cargill also welcomed the news and reported that it is looking forward to the EC and member mtates translating this positive EFSA opinion into the EU Food Additives regulation that will extend the current legal use of erythritol as a flavour enhancer to flavoured non-alcoholic beverages.
Two years ago Cargill failed in its second attempt to secure EU approval for use of bulk sweetener erythritol in soft drinks, after EFSA published a negative opinion relating to its introduction on child safety grounds.
* The term “quantum satis” is applied to usage for a large number of additives, and indicates that no maximum level is specified.
Source: FoodIngredientsFirst.com