Oser Communications Group

GOURMET NEWS MARCH 2014 www.gourmetnews.com GENERAL NEWS 6 Sweeteners Continued from PAGE 1 Regardless of whether or not those pink, blue and yellow artificial sweetener packets are in fact good for you or not, the fact is that more and more consumers are growing concerned about ingesting too much artifi- cially sweetened food and drink. As a re- sult, there is a growing consumer demand for natural alternatives to traditional white sugar, and the sweeteners industry is re- sponding with a wealth of options. Without a doubt, the most popular nat- ural alternative to sugar currently flooding the U.S. marketplace is stevia. According to Robert Brooke, CEO of global stevia sup- plier Stevia First, consumers are flocking to stevia and stevia-sweetened products, be- cause it is a natural product that they can trust. "When people have a choice between artificial sweeteners and stevia, it's kind of a no-brainer," he said. "Three in five Amer- icans believe artificial sweeteners are not safe or maybe only partially safe." Although stevia may have been used in some places around the world for well over 1,000 years, it was just approved for use as a sugar substitute in the United States in 2008. Stevia's proponents argue that its consumption is responsible for a number of health benefits, including reducing risk of diabetes, lowering blood pressure, boost- ing the immune system, fighting cancer, fighting joint inflammation and more. In addition, these proponents argue that stud- ies have not identified any negative impli- cations of stevia consumption. Still, it is not just the healthfulness of ste- via that draws consumers to it, but also the product's superior taste. When extracted from the leaf, stevia can be 300 times sweeter than sugar, and when processed correctly, consumers should taste only this sweetness itself. "There is no bitterness. There is no aftertaste if you just taste the leaf itself," said Carol May, President and co-owner (with her husband Jim) of global stevia producer Sweetleaf Stevia Sweetener. "We don't need any masking agents. We ex- tract certain glycosides, and the taste is great. And that's what we're about: great taste and a healthy quality product." "[Stevia has] far better taste and sweet- ener properties that make it more compet- itive with other non-nutritive sweeteners on the market," said Brooke. He argues that while some consumers may have a negative perception of the taste of stevia, this is be- cause they first consumed it early on in the product's development. Today's stevia con- tains none of the bitterness that was char- acteristic of what he calls "stevia 1.0." In addition, another benefit of stevia is the product's versatility. For food and bev- erage companies looking for a natural sweetener for their products, there is very little that stevia can not do. It works on its own, and it can also be combined with other sugars and sweeteners. With its heat stability and good pH, stevia offers food companies a lot of options. Few sweeteners, natural or artificial, have developed the popular following that stevia has. Acolytes of this sweet plant con- tinue to spread word of their passion for the product. "Peoples all over the world are seeing that stevia is an answer—a very good answer—to the world's needs," said May. "We're excited to be a part of that." Of course stevia is not the only recent ad- dition to the natural sweetener landscape. An even more recent introduction into the world of sugar alternatives is monk fruit extract, commonly sold under the brands Norbu, Nectresse or Monk Fruit In The Raw. The natural sweetener is derived from monk fruit, a vine ripened Asian fruit whose extract is 200 times sweeter than sugar. Widely available in the U.S. market for less than two years, monk fruit extract has quickly gained popularity among con- sumers for its clean taste, versatility and easy cup-for-cup measurement when used as a sugar alternative. "We know moms look to provide their family with healthy, wholesome ingredients while reducing added sugars," said Sara Slivon, Brand Manager for Cumberland Packing Corp.'s In The Raw line of prod- ucts. "Moms can feel good about Monk Fruit In The Raw because it's made with real fruit and has a simple, sweet taste that works naturally in any recipe." Another alternative to white sugar that is quickly emerging as a sought after product- of-choice for many health conscious con- sumers today is coconut sugar. Much like extracting syrup from a maple tree, coconut sugar is produced by tapping the blossoms that grow high in the canopy of coconut pro- ducing palms. By cooking down this sap, a crystalline sugar is eventually produced that mirrors white sugar in taste and sweetness, but with a variety of additional benefits. "Coconut sugar is nature's perfect sweet- ener. It's sustainable. It's organic. It has a low glycemic index," said Becky Schilling, Sales Manager at coconut sugar company Big Tree Farms. "Palm sugars pre-date honey in the writ- ten record. It's been around for thousands of years. It's had a long time to work with the human body. It works," added Freder- ick Schilling, Big Tree Farms' partner and Co-CEO. "It's low glycemic, so your body absorbs it very slowly. You don't get that sugar spike. It's clean fuel basically." Both Becky and Frederick tout coconut sugar for its healthfulness when used as an alternative to white sugar or artificial sweeteners. In addition to being low glycemic, coconut sugar also contains amino acids and minerals that are not pres- ent in table sugar. According to Frederick, coconut sugar is rich in tropical minerals and electrolytes, including potassium, mag- nesium, manganese and calcium. The distinctive taste of coconut sugar also sets it apart from ordinary white sugar. According to Becky, whereas table sugar usually offers a very high level of sweetness and little else, coconut sugar has a deep rich caramel flavor more reminiscent of brown sugar or molasses. Becky Schilling argues that as long as consumers continue to be dissatisfied with the artificial sweeteners currently on the market, there will be room in the U.S. con- sumer landscape for coconut sugar. "As we are looking at death from diabetes 2 and rampant obesity, people are definitely seek- ing a healthful alternative to the sugar ad- diction," she said. "Most definitely [coconut sugar] is not a trend. It's a sweetener that is here to stay, because it's healthy." For consumers who continue to be un- sure of which sugar or sugar alternative they should opt for, experts agree that one word is key: moderation. Regardless of whether one chooses to sweeten her or his tea with white sugar or aspartame or stevia or coconut sugar, experts argue that mod- eration is most important thing. "The dosing really matters. If you're someone that has five or ten sodas a day the impact will be different," said Brooke. "All-things-in-moderation is key, but do people who use artificial sweeteners really use them in moderation? No, because that's why you use artificial sweeteners. That's the problem," agreed Frederick Schilling. For Frederick, the sweetener you choose will ultimately have little impact on your life, unless it is part of a larger all around approach to living healthfully. "Stick to the basics," he said. "Exercise. Eat a good diet. For me it's more about the holistic respect for how you're living your life." GN Mintel Consumer Survey: More than One-Third of Americans Cutting Back on Red Meat for Health, Budget Reasons As health experts encourage consumers to eat less red meat, 39 percent of con- sumers are responding by decreasing the amount of red meat in their diets. This is according to a newly released report from market research company Mintel. Only 10 percent of consumers said that they are eating more red meat today than they did in the past. Still, 90 percent of con- sumers surveyed stated that they con- tinue to eat some kind of red meat at least once a month. In addition to cutting back on red meat, 25 percent of pork consumers claimed to have eaten less pork in 2013 than they did in 2012. Only 13 percent of consumers are eating more pork today than they did in years past. "Health trends motivating consumers to cut fat and cholesterol intake are by far the most dominant factors affecting the red meat market," said Patty Johnson, global food analyst at Mintel. "While some con- sumers are turning away from red meat in favor of healthier alternatives, there are still a staggering amount of Americans who par- take on a regular basis. For many of those who are cutting back, they are very well trading up to a higher quality meat prod- uct." Indeed, 16 percent of those Americans who say they are consuming less red meat are opting for higher quality red meat when they do choose to consume the product. According to Johnson, this creates an op- portunity to market higher quality meats to consumers. While health concerns are the top reason consumers are cutting back on red meat, the price of it is certainly another matter of contention. More than half (58 percent) of consumers say they have noticed the price of red meat increasing in the past 12 months, and 36 percent say it is too expen- sive to buy as often as they would like. "The red meat category is facing a diffi- cult future, as both health trends and price are working to discourage consumer de- mand for red meat products," said Johnson. "The industry also has done little to inno- vate since the recession and therefore has offered consumers little to get excited about. This presents an opportunity for the industry to try to invigorate the market with new products, improved quality and improved functionality." GN

• Cover