Sugar Free Syrup
Sugar free syrup is a liquid sweetener formulated to pour, dose and taste like a sugar syrup while containing no sucrose, glucose or fructose. The bulk of the liquid is water carrying a non sugar bulking sweetener, most often maltitol syrup, sorbitol syrup, hydrogenated starch hydrolysate, allulose syrup or soluble fibre such as polydextrose or resistant dextrin, with a high intensity sweetener dosed in at low level to bring the sweetness up to that of a sugar syrup.
The formulation problem is that sugar in a syrup does more than sweeten. It provides viscosity, body, mouthfeel, water activity control and gloss. A sugar free syrup therefore normally carries a hydrocolloid such as xanthan gum, cellulose gum or a combination, to rebuild the viscosity that the missing sugar solids would have supplied, along with an acidulant to set pH, a preservative system since the water activity is higher than in a true sugar syrup, and flavour and colour appropriate to the type.
The finished product is a pourable, slightly to moderately viscous liquid, typically at 25 to 55 percent solids depending on the bulking system, clear or coloured according to the flavour. It is miscible with water, stable to pasteurisation and to ambient storage once preserved, and does not crystallise. Polyol based versions carry the digestive tolerance limits of their bulking sweetener, which is why some formulations lean on soluble fibre or allulose instead.
We source bulk Sugar Free Syrup from top China manufacturers for our partners. The manufacturer is in Shandong. A smaller requirement can ship in a combined container with other ingredients.
Please send the grade you need, the volume and your destination port, and we will come back with a solution and a price.
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- Function
- Sweetener
Specifications
| Item | Specification |
|---|---|
| Appearance | Clear to translucent pourable syrup, colour according to flavour, free of foreign matter |
| Total soluble solids | 50.0 plus or minus 2.0 degrees Brix |
| Bulking sweetener content | Declared level, plus or minus 5 percent of target |
| High intensity sweetener | Declared level, plus or minus 10 percent of target by HPLC |
| Total sugars, sucrose, glucose and fructose | 0.5 g per 100 g maximum |
| Viscosity at 20 degrees Celsius | 1500 to 3500 mPa s |
| pH | 3.5 to 4.5 |
| Water activity | 0.85 maximum |
| Sulphated ash | 0.5 percent maximum |
| Lead | 0.5 mg/kg maximum |
| Arsenic | 0.5 mg/kg maximum |
| Total plate count | 500 cfu/g maximum |
| Yeast and mould | 50 cfu/g maximum |
| E. coli | Absent in 1 g |
| Salmonella | Absent in 25 g |
Common Markets Grades
The trade splits by bulking system and by intended dilution. Maltitol and hydrogenated starch hydrolysate based syrups behave most like a glucose syrup in body and are the standard for pancake and topping syrups. Allulose based syrups brown and caramelise on heat and are used where a cooked application is intended. Fibre based syrups built on polydextrose or resistant dextrin allow a dietary fibre declaration and avoid a polyol laxation statement. A near solids free version, essentially thickened and flavoured water sweetened only with sucralose or steviol glycosides, is sold for coffee and beverage flavouring where no calorie contribution at all is wanted.
Grades are then distinguished by flavour, with plain, maple, caramel, chocolate and fruit versions all traded, by whether the syrup is ready to use or a concentrate for dilution, and by the sweetener system, since a stevia or monk fruit sweetened syrup is a different label proposition from a sucralose or acesulfame potassium sweetened one. Preservative free versions filled aseptically or hot filled are made for customers who need a clean label.
Applications
- Pancake, waffle and dessert topping syrups sold at retail as reduced calorie alternatives to maple and table syrup
- Coffee shop flavouring syrups, pumped into hot and iced drinks where no sugar contribution is wanted
- Flavoured milk, protein shakes and meal replacement drinks, adding sweetness and body without carbohydrate
- Sugar free ice cream ripples and sauces, where the syrup must stay soft and pourable at freezer temperature
- Pancake and dessert service in food service and hotel breakfast, dispensed from bulk containers
- Yoghurt toppings and fruit preparations for reduced sugar dairy products
- Cocktail and bar mixers formulated for low sugar drinks
- Diabetic and low carbohydrate retail ranges, where the syrup replaces honey or golden syrup in home cooking
- Nutrition bar and confectionery binding systems, where a non crystallising liquid sweetener holds the mix together
China Manufacturers of Sugar Free Syrup
Top Sugar Free Syrup manufacturers in China.
Company names and logos are the property of the manufacturers themselves. They are listed here because our own directory records them as producing this ingredient. A listing is not an endorsement by them, and we do not represent them or speak on their behalf.
Regulatory Status
The syrup has no additive identity of its own; the components are regulated individually and are declared on the ingredient list. In the United States sorbitol is affirmed as generally recognised as safe under 21 CFR 184.1835, maltitol and hydrogenated starch hydrolysates are the subject of GRAS notices, allulose is the subject of GRAS notices and is excluded from the added sugars and total sugars declarations on the Nutrition Facts panel, and sucralose is a permitted food additive under 21 CFR 172.831. 21 CFR 172.695 permits xanthan gum. The claim sugar free may be used only where the product meets the nutrient content claim definition in 21 CFR 101.60.
In the European Union the bulking sweeteners are authorised as food additives, maltitol and maltitol syrup as E 965, sorbitol and sorbitol syrup as E 420, polydextrose as E 1200, with sucralose as E 955, acesulfame potassium as E 950 and steviol glycosides from stevia leaf as E 960a, and xanthan gum as E 415. Any product containing more than 10 percent added polyols must carry the statement that excessive consumption may produce laxative effects. Preservatives used are themselves authorised additives with their own E numbers and permitted levels. JECFA maintains specification monographs for these sweeteners and hydrocolloids, and Codex lists them in the General Standard for Food Additives.
Manufacturing Process
Manufacture is a blending and thermal process rather than a chemical synthesis. The bulking sweetener, delivered as maltitol syrup, sorbitol syrup, hydrogenated starch hydrolysate or a fibre syrup, is metered into a jacketed mixing vessel with the process water and heated with agitation. The hydrocolloid is dispersed first, usually by dry blending it with a portion of the bulking syrup or by feeding it through a powder induction unit, since xanthan and cellulose gum lump if added directly to water, and the batch is held with high shear until the gum is fully hydrated and the viscosity has developed.
The high intensity sweetener, acidulant, salt, flavour, colour and preservative are then added as premixed solutions, the pH is checked and adjusted, and the batch is standardised for solids against a refractometer. The syrup is pasteurised through a plate or tubular heat exchanger, deaerated where entrained air would cause foaming on filling, then hot filled into bottles or drums, or cooled and cold filled where an aseptic or high barrier pack is used. Filled containers are inverted or tunnel cooled, coded and checked for fill weight, viscosity, pH and Brix before release.
