Tetra Pak, a leading processing and packaging solutions company, has published a whitepaper proposing an innovative approach to sugar reduction in fruit juices. This comes in response to rising health concerns and regulatory policies in Southeast Asia. Consumers are increasingly health-conscious, shifting towards plant-based alternatives and avoiding high-sugar food and beverage products. This has led to food and beverage companies reformulating products without sugar and artificial sweeteners, posing a challenge to reduce sugar while maintaining taste and nutritional value. This has prompted significant research and development efforts.
Tetra Pak has developed a pioneering approach to reducing sugar in fruit juices, as detailed in their new whitepaper. This method utilizes controlled fermentation to lower intrinsic sugars such as sucrose, glucose, and fructose in fruit juices. Key technologies include membrane filtration, enzymatic sugar transformation, and yeast fermentation.
Through controlled fermentation, Tetra Pak’s process can reduce the sugar content in juice to almost zero. This zero-sugar juice can then be blended with regular juice to achieve the desired level of sugar reduction. This innovative process ensures that the juice’s taste and nutritional quality remain intact, leveraging their well-established industry technologies.
John Jose, Marketing Director of Tetra Pak Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines, and Indonesia, said, “Health and regulatory trends are spurring tremendous innovation within the F&B sector. We are always on the pulse of consumer needs and ready to help our F&B customers solve challenges with our latest technology and expertise. With our advanced fermentation process, we can significantly reduce the sugar content in juice. This process allows us to create a juice that can be blended to meet any desired level of sweetness without compromising on taste or quality.”
The whitepaper highlights that this approach has been validated through technical and consumer tests. It opens significant opportunities for the F&B industry to develop a new category of reduced-sugar juices and drinks. It also delves into the changing consumer attitudes toward sugar, provides an in-depth overview of the fermentation process, and explores the potential of this new beverage category.
The need for innovative solutions becomes increasingly important as the F&B industry evolves to meet new health standards and consumer preferences. Tetra Pak’s commitment to research and development ensures that its partners have access to the most innovative technologies available.
Jose added: “We have over 70 years of experience in beverage production, delivering food processing and packaging equipment worldwide. Given our extensive specialist knowledge and our innovative ability to combine technology with food application expertise, we are uniquely positioned to support our F&B partners in navigating the challenges of sugar reduction. Our reliable and practical approach towards the fermentation process represents yet another advancement in the field.”
