LAUSR

The rising awareness about the adverse health effects of high sugar consumption has led to regulatory amendments for triggering sugar reduction in food products. Sugar reduction in yogurt is a challenging endeavor due to the changes in taste, flavor, texture, maintenance of food functionality, shelf-life, cost and consumer acceptability. A review of the scientific literature, patents, and web articles revealed several approaches being explored by the dairy industry to reduce the sugar addition. A careful assessment of these strategies and their critical analysis is presented in this review. The strategies for sugar reduction involve multifaceted approaches including the use of alternative low-calorie sweeteners, honey, fruit preparations, novel cultures, lactase addition, inulin fiber addition, and flavor interventions. Much of the work so far has focused on development of low-calorie alternative sweeteners, and novel sweeteners-based solutions are evolving. The use of food structuring approaches remains to be explored for sugar reduction in yogurt.