Fruit juices could almost have zero sugar content through an advanced fermentation formulated by a processing and packaging company.
Tetra Pak developed the approach to produce juices without relying on sugar and artificial sweeteners, especially with the regulations on sweet beverages in Southeast Asia.
“With our advanced fermentation process, we can cut down the sugar content in juice significantly. This process allows us to create a juice that can be blended to meet any desired level of sweetness without compromising on taste or quality,” John Jose, the marketing director of Tetra Pak Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines and Indonesia, said.
The controlled fermentation process lowers the intrinsic sugars in fruit juices like sucrose, glucose, and fructose.
It also involved technologies such as membrane filtration, enzymatic sugar transformation, and yeast fermentation.
The company created the fermentation process to respond to the increasing health concerns and regulatory policies on sugar in Southeast Asia.
According to the World Health Organization Southeast Asia Region, an estimated 96 million people have diabetes, and another 96 million were pre-diabetic.
It added that 600,000 individuals die of diabetes annually.
Foods containing high sugar content were also being marketed to children in the region, according to a 2023 study supported by the United Nations Children’s Fund and partners of the Consortium for Improving Complementary Foods in Southeast Asia.
The marketing director said that Tetra Pak provided assistance to their F&A partners in sugar reduction with their “specialist knowledge” and the ability to combine technology with food application expertise.
Meanwhile, the advanced fermentation process was detailed in the company’s whitepaper published on their site.
Tetra Pak pioneered technology for food packaging, securing access and ensuring safety for consumers.
