Austria Juice, a manufacturer and supplier of apple and berry juice concentrates, has shared details of its fermentation technology, developed to reduce sugars in fruit juice. It claims this natural process lowers sugar and calories by at least 30% while keeping the juice flavourful.
The company will be introducing an apple juice concentrate as its flagship reduced-sugar product at PLMA in Amsterdam this week.
It says the patent-pending technology keeps each juice’s authentic fruit identity and essential properties. This allows beverage companies to label the product as “reduced-sugar fruit juice from concentrate”.
“We at Austria Juice identified a gap between the desire for 100% fruit juice and the need to reduce sugar consumption”, explains Kai Oliver Antonius, Vice President, Austria Juice. “Mindful consumers want the nutritional benefits of pure juice, but without the sugar load. They also prefer not to compromise on taste or to sip artificial sweeteners. Meanwhile, we enable our clients to keep their labels clean.”
How the technology works
The fermentation technology used by Austria Juice is patent-pending. Sugar is converted, processing aids are completely removed, and the product is blended with fruit juice concentrate to achieve the desired sugar content. The juice produced contains at least 30% less sugar and a minimum of 30% fewer calories, achieving EU Breakfast Directive goals.
The company says its developers chose this process over other methods because it is quick, streamlined and precise, claiming it prevents off-flavours and secondary notes and makes sure that the final product contains no undesirable alcoholic or fermented aromas.
