Manuel Gómez Pallarés discusses how bakeries can reduce the amount sugar in their products and offers some suggestions for sugar alternatives.


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Sugar is a fundamental ingredient in many baked goods. Of course, its primary function is sweetness and if this was all, then replacing it would be straightforward. Unfortunately, in most


baked products, sugar serves a variety of other functions. It is the primary food for yeast and other microorganisms in fermentation processes; it participates in Maillard reactions, influencing the colour and aroma on the surface of products. It also aids in colour through caramelization and affects the preservation of some products by reducing water activity, among other functions. In cakes and cookies, it also has a structural function. Today sugar is listed in all dietary guidelines as a component to be avoided or consumed very occasionally. Some countries even require


highlighting products with high sugar content with symbols on packaging, such as mandatory hexagons in some Latin American countries. In other cases, the presence of sugar is considered a negative factor for a certain nutritional evaluation of products, as in the case of the Nutriscore. So, there has been a growing interest in reducing the amount of sugar in formulations or


It is possible to push


sugar further


down the ingredients list to improve a products image”


eliminating it altogether. In the former case, the aim is to achieve a better nutritional image or a better Nutriscore classification. Finally, some companies simply want to remove the word ‘sugar’ from their labelling to achieve a better nutritional image. However, sugar plays a crucial role in the formulations of many baked products, and its incorporation is usually essential to achieve maximum pleasure when consumed. Therefore, its substitution will not be easy.


Removing sugar from labelling In most countries, it is mandatory to include a list of ingredients on the label. In this list, the ingredients must appear in order of their importance in the formulation. It is possible to push sugar further down the ingredients list to improve a products image but since the total sugar content is not reduced with such strategies, a well-informed consumer, who not only analyses the ingredient


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Kennedy’s Bakery Production June/July 2024 31


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