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While most Americans love a sweet treat, many don’t love the accompanying spike in their blood sugar and inevitable crash that follows – forcing them to choose between an indulgence and their health.

Despite FDA’s labeling of tagatose as an added sugar, the alternative sweetener’s nutritional and functional benefits continue to generate interest from the food and beverage industry, particularly with lean labels, Jim Kappas, VP specialty ingredients, ASR Group, explained to FoodNavigator-USA.

More than fat or calories, the nutritional information consumers are most likely to look for on food and beverage packages is sugar, with a survey conducted by Cargill finding nearly two out of three consumers aiming to avoid it and the majority also reportedly bypassing artificial sweeteners.

Sugar has emerged as public enemy No. 1 among consumers and FDA is looking for sugar reduction strategies at the behest of the White House – and yet, most Americans still want moments of indulgence with many people justifying them as much-needed support for their mental wellness.

The Better Bakehouse is shaking up the baked goods category with a better-for-you donut under its Donutful brand, while tapping into trends around clean label, company founder and CEO Tony Davis told FoodNavigator-USA.

Monk fruit has gained popularity as a natural sweetener, and is poised for growth alongside natural and better-for-you trends as consumers and brands reduce sugar across categories, Monk Fruit Corp.'s GM David Thorrold told FoodNavigator-USA.

With Oobli’s first commercial launch of three fruit-flavored sweet teas, the company is building its product development around the oubli fruit’s sweet protein, brazzein, which Oobli reports is up to 5,000 times sweeter than sugar and metabolizes as a protein.

FDA opened registration this week for a virtual public meeting and listening session it will hold Nov. 6-8 on strategies to reduce added sugar consumption, following a commitment it made last fall during the White House’s Conference on Hunger, Nutrition and Health and pressure from The Center for Science in the Public Interest and New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.

FDA opened registration this week for a virtual public meeting and listening session it will hold Nov. 6-8 on strategies to reduce added sugar consumption, following a commitment it made last fall during the White House’s Conference on Hunger, Nutrition and Health and pressure from The Center for Science in the Public Interest and New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.

Blending convenience, flavor, and health benefits, the functional drinks have emerged as a key area of growth for the US beverage industry, as consumers continue to demand more out of their products than ever before, a panel of industry experts shared in a recent FoodNavigator-USA webinar.