New Chr. Hansen culture reduces added sugar in fermented dairy products
As health organizations, governments and retailers are looking to sugar reduction in foods and consumers are focusing on sugar content, dairy manufacturers are under pressure to reduce added sugar in their products, especially in yogurt.
Jessica Bentley, commercial development manager, Fresh Dairy at Chr. Hansen, said, “Dairy manufacturers often add sugar to their products to compensate for the taste of post acidification, finding the right balance between sweet and sour. With our new patented culture, post acidification is very low, which reduces the need for added sugar.”
Sweetness in milk
Sweety Y-1 is a new culture solution allowing the natural creation of sweetness through lactose.
Kim Soerensen, senior principal scientist in strains, Bacterial Physiology at Chr. Hansen, said, “Using what is naturally available in milk and applying our expertise in culture application, we have developed a culture that will enable a sweeter taste than other cultures can.”
Sweety Y-1 is a culture solution using Streptococcus thermophilus and Lactobacillus bulgaricus cultures. It can convert the existing sugars in milk, using more of the lactose and yielding glucose – which provides a greater sweetness intensity.
Bentley said, “Sweety Y-1 is a mild culture with superior pH stability. This enables dairy manufacturers to create products that maintain sweetness throughout shelf life. As the first and only company to launch such a solution, we expect a lot of interest and are excited to engage with our customers.”
The company added that the Sweety Y-1 cultures maintain the sweet taste during shelf life with very low post acidification.
