Elaboration of a natural sweetener using Erythritol/Stevia

Abstract

The food industry always searches for innovation, product improvement, quality and customer satisfaction. On relation to sweeteners, this search had an expressive increase in recent times due to the increase of diseases caused by the excessive consumption of sugar. Most tabletop sweeteners marketed in Brazil have bulking agents with characteristics not appreciated by consumers, substances that can cause intolerance such as lactose or caloric products such as maltodextrin (4 kcal/g). Considering this problem, the aim of the research was to develop a natural sweetener, without contraindications, using the erythritol / stevia blend to compose the formulation. Three formulations (standard, 10% sweeter and 10% less sweet) were developed, that in the sorting test there was no preferred sample, being able to opt for the formulation with lower cost-10% less sweet. At the same time, a semistructured questionnaire was applied, characterizing the consumers of sweeteners. Df all respondents, 43% used sweeteners. The variable that increases the chance of its consumption is "being overweight"; when associated with the variable "overweight family", the chance of consumption is greater. Another proof was that more than 40% of users search for natural substances in their sweetener, strengthening the possibility of developing a natural sweetener.

Perception and acceptance of natural sweeteners in a plant‐based cocoa‐flavored ice cream: Difference between Danish and Brazilian consumers

“…Moreover, an increasing number of consumers seek sugar‐reduced or sugar‐free products (Saraiva et al, 2020). Sucrose, popularly known as table sugar, is a natural product; however, it is high in calorie content and may increase the risk of chronic diseases (Tasso et al, 2020). Therefore, consumers have turned to other sources of natural sweeteners (Saraiva et al, 2020).…”