Isoglucose market 'wide open' for EU
The production of isoglucose, which is derived mainly from corn, will rocket once quotas limiting output to 5% of the EU’s total sugar production are abolished on October 1 2017, said Vito Martielle, senior analyst at Rabobank.
Take advantage
Abolition of the quota would allow many of the EU’s food and drink manufacturers the chance to take advantage of isoglucose, which is a sugar alternative, he said.
While beverage producers already account for a large proportion of isoglucose use, the dairy and bakery sector would also benefit, he added.
“Dairy product businesses, which currently use some isoglucose in their yogurts, desserts and fresh products, could replace a share of their sugar with isoglucose,”
Replacement
Martielle claimed. Bakery businesses, too, could replace large amounts of sugar in their products with it.
However, a growing number of US food and drink manufacturers were starting to ditch isoglucose in favour of sugar, following various claims linking it to obesity and other health-related issues, he said.
“Regardless of the validity or accuracy of these health claims, public perception of isoglucose could prove challenging for food and drink companies that are shifting to isoglucose in the EU market,” said Martielle.
Despite health claims, isoglucose use in Europe would grow, as it had in other countries, said Martielle. “[In China] domestic production has seen a 10-fold expansion up to approximately 1.3Mt between 2003 and 2013.”
