There is a big trend in the industry toward sugar and calorie reduction because of the increasing rates of diabetes, obesity, and other health issues. The World Health Organization directed people to cut on sugars and eat low to no sugar diets to control the increasing health risks. 

Today, more than 50% of consumers crave healthier products and actively choose foods with low to no sugar. But at the same time, they do not want to compromise on the taste. 

In this context, food manufacturers face the challenge of offering customers a range of products containing sugar-reducing ingredients and compensating for the loss of mouthfeel and other important qualities. 

Sugar Reduction – A Key Challenge for Food Industry 

High sugar intake is a global public health concern. It can lead to several diseases like obesity, diabetes, arteriosclerosis, to name a few. Sugar is the key nutrient that provides energy and cannot be replaced by other nutrients. In addition to the delicious notes, sugar also contains organoleptic properties (texture, viscosity, solubility, storage, …). It adds aroma, corrects bitterness/acidity, prevents meat oxidation, and boosts flavors in different recipes. 

But, high sugar consumption may lead to complexities. Therefore, the World Health Organization suggests limiting daily sugar intake – to no more than 50g of sugar every day. 

For this reason, food industries are committed to making a difference by delivering low-sugar or sweetener-based products to address the global issue. But delivering the same level of sweetness and the taste profile that consumers are accustomed to is a challenge. 

Hence, food manufacturers must offer a flavorful and indulgent ingredient that can keep the balance between nutrition and naturalness to consumers seeking taste and pleasure. 

Yeast extract is a natural, most effective ingredient solution on the market to formulate sugar-reduced and ‘better-for-you’ products and address the sugar reduction challenge. In this context, the demand for yeast extract in the food sector has increased exponentially, and Future Market Insights pegged yeast extract sales to reach $2.1 billion by 2031. 

Yeast Extract – A Food Manufacturer’s Ally!

Yeast extract is a natural food ingredient rich in Vitamin B, amino acids (30%), protein(50%), nucleotide (10%), and other flavorful notes that directly intensify the sweetness and the overall flavor of sugar-reducing products. Since ancient times, yeast has proven beneficial in human nutrition and emits a myriad of flavors after going through lysis. It is available to buy in three forms: liquid, powder, and paste. Dried yeast extract is sweeter and evokes “the taste of chestnuts.” Food manufacturers use yeast extracts to add sugar flavor notes by up to 30% in no-sugar sweet products to maintain the overall taste balance with different aromatic notes, eventually delivering consumer psychological satisfaction. 

Yeast extracts are used in sugar-free juices to add flavors

The common way to reduce sugar is to use artificial sweeteners in drinks and desserts. But often, non-nutritive sweeteners impart off-flavors that most customers don’t like to use. Yeast extract is a healthy, natural alternative to help reduce sugar intake while bringing a positive impact on the sensory profiles of juices, enhancing their organoleptic richness. 

High-quality, natural yeast extracts help food firms to provide a sweet sensation in the mouth without adding sugar. It is used in sugary drinks (0.01-0.03% ) to intensify sweetness, bring out the extended lingering taste, and beef up nutritional contents. 

To commend the use of yeast extracts in the sugar reduction challenge many experiments have been performed by different research institutes and universities. The Lodz University of Technology is one such example. They conducted a study to advocate the reduction of sugar content in red beetroot products, including juice with yeast extracts while retaining its high nutritional values. The root juice has a high sugar content and caloric value. In the experiment, several yeast extracts were fermented to reduce the sugar content in raw red beet juice, which resulted in a reduction of sugar content from 49.7% to 58.2% while maintaining the amounts of betalain fractions. 

Yeast extract adds and enriches flavors

Yeast extract highlights tastes and adds flavors to foods like a spice. It is often used as an ingredient in savory products and also contributes to masking different flavor notes such as the aroma of eggs, cocoa, cereals, and vanilla and thus helps reduce sugar in the formula. The typical usage of yeast extract as a flavor enhancer ranges from 0.1 to 0.5%. 

The unique flavor of yeast extract can neutralize undesirable metallic or licorice aftertastes and lingering effects brought by sweetener use. It provides a well-rounded mouthfeel, making it more pleasant. In addition, yeast extract can reproduce the filmogenic aspect of fat to recreate richness in foods, thus helping food manufacturers to provide consumers with healthier, sugar-free products that satisfy their expectations.

The Bouillon (Umami) Flavor

Although yeast extract is not made up of animal ingredients, it has a “fermented taste, reminiscent of meat.” This is because it contains the same taste giving amino acids such as Glutamic acid, which is responsible for the ‘umami’ flavor (the fifth taste). Glutamic acid is found in meat-based, protein-rich foods and tomatoes, peas, and mushrooms. 

The name ‘umami’ is borrowed from the Japanese word ‘umami,’ which means ‘delicious.’ As a result of the bouillion flavor notes yeast extract brings, it is used as an ingredient to mask flavors of meat, broth, soy sauce, and roasted flavors in preparations of foods such as soups, stews, sauces, marinades, and plant-based recipes. It also helps maintain the balanced taste of no-sugar products. 

Hiyeast YE Products Enable Manufacturers to Deliver Flavorful Sugar Reducing Foods 

Hiyeast specializes in manufacturing yeast extracts that use baker’s yeast as raw material. It has over 10 years of production experience, with its own R&D team and a stable fermentation source to ensure quality and consistency. Hiyeast provides food and drink manufacturers with different yeast extracts rich in high-quality proteins, a good solution ingredient for vegetarian cuisine, and contributes to a balanced, low-sugar diet.