Accuracy Matters: The Science of Sweetener Testing
In today’s food, dietary supplement, and beverage industry, ensuring accurate sugar content in products is more important than ever. With increasing consumer awareness about nutrition and stricter regulatory requirements, companies must verify and control the levels of sugars present in their products. Sugar testing plays a vital role in maintaining product quality, meeting labeling regulations, and supporting claims such as “low sugar,” “no added sugar,” and “zero sugar.”
Eurofins is a trusted provider of food analysis services, including sugar analysis testing. With state-of-the-art laboratories and expertise in regulatory compliance, Eurofins helps manufacturers ensure their products meet industry standards. Whether testing for total sugar content, identifying specific sugar types, or verifying product authenticity, Eurofins provides reliable and accurate testing solutions tailored to client needs.
What kind of sugar analysis test methods are available?
A variety of methods for sugar analysis are offered at Eurofins Food Chemistry Testing in Madison, WI. Common sugar testing includes:
Sugar Profile Testing
This test detects different sugars, including galactose, glucose, sucrose, fructose, allulose, lactose, isomaltulose, and maltose. It’s commonly used to analyze food products, beverages, syrups, animal feed, and grains to determine sugar content. Individual sugars can be measured as low as 100 parts per million (ppm.)
Low Level Lactose and Lactulose Testing
This test can measure very low levels of lactose and lactulose (from 20 parts per million (ppm) to 1%) in food, drinks, dietary supplements, and raw ingredients. Lactulose levels are only reported if specifically requested by the client.
Sugar Alcohol Testing
This test measures sugar alcohols in food, drinks, and grains, such as sorbitol, xylitol, mannitol, maltitol, lactitol, erythritol, and isomalt. Similar in structure to sugar, sugar alcohols often have less caloric value and must be declared in a Nutritional Facts Panel or ingredient statement. The test can detect sugar alcohols at levels as low as 500ppm. However, samples with high levels of protein or amino acids may not test properly because they can interfere with the analysis.
Sucralose Testing
Sucralose is a common artificial sweetener used in food and food products. This method works well for testing sucralose in processed foods but isn’t recommended for testing pure materials. It can detect sucralose at levels as low as 125 ppm.
Artificial Sweetener Testing
This test checks for artificial sweeteners like Acesulfame K, Aspartame, DKP, and Saccharin in food and drinks. It can detect artificial sweeteners at levels as low as 50 ppm. However, samples high in protein may not test well because the proteins interfere with the results.
Hydrolyzed Sugar Testing
This test measures specific types of sugars, including arabinose, fucose, galactose, glucose mannose, rhamnose, xylose in wood products hydrolysates, yeast extract, soy solubles, and hemicellulose extract. It can detect hydrolyzed sugars at levels as low as 2000 ppm.
Steviol Glycoside Testing (Stevia)
This test measures the levels of Steviol Glycosides, including Rebaudioside A, B, C, D, F, M, Stevioside, Steviolbioside, Dulcoside A and Rubusoside. The method is designed to test for to 0.1% Bulk release powders, 166 ppm for tabletop sweeteners and finished products, and 5 ppm for beverages.
What is trending in sugar analysis testing?
Allulose, a sugar alternative that has 90% fewer calories than regular sugar, is a trend growing in sugar analysis testing. Allulose is becoming popular with food manufacturers because of its low caloric value, minimal impact on blood sugar, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) allows it to be excluded from total and added sugars on Nutritional Facts labels.
How can clients avoid sugar analysis testing challenges?
The best way for clients to ensure smooth sample testing is to provide Eurofins with as much information as possible about their sample and what levels they hope to achieve. For example, high protein levels in a sample can interfere with testing for sugar alcohols or artificial sweeteners so food scientists need to know if they need to extract the proteins from a sample before it is tested.
Conclusion
In an era where consumers are more conscious than ever about what goes into their food, ensuring accurate sugar content isn’t just a regulatory requirement but a crucial step toward maintaining trust and quality. Precise sugar analysis testing is essential for food manufacturers to meet both consumer expectations and legal standards.
Eurofins provides comprehensive and reliable sugar analysis testing for sugars, artificial sweeteners, sugar alcohols, and sugar alternatives to help clients meet regulatory compliance and support truthful labeling claims.
Ensure accurate sugar analysis in your food, supplement, or beverage product today! Contact us to discuss with one of our experts!
