Cargill’s sweetener experts are set to introduce a lower-calorie chocolate at the end of 2011, according to ConfectioneryNews.com.
Cargill was quoted by the report saying chocolate with a 30% calorie reducation has been achieved through the use of a patented blend of sweeteners, including its zero-calorie bulk sweetener, Zerose erythritol.
Cargill added that the reduction is “equivalent to a saving of up to 160 calories for a 100g chocolate bar.”
Erythritol, a bulk sweetener polyol that occurs at low levels in some fruits and fermented foods, contains a variety of benefits, including low-calorie content, low GI index and a low laxative effect. European Commission directive 2008/100/EC – published in October 2008 - established that the energy conversion value of the polyol is zero calories.
Brigitte Bayart, marketing manager at Cargill’s cocoa & chocolate was quoted telling ConfectioneryNews.com that a lot of taste development work has taken place at its R&D centres in Belgium – Vilvoorde and Mouscron - on the model shown at FIE in Frankfurt last year, with the additional enabling the chocolate to be use in cereal bars and biscuits, reducing the calorie level of these snacks. – --Source: ConfectioneryNews.com