We get asked from time to time why we don’t sell Maltitol or Tagatose, so here are some comments that help explain.
Maltitol
Maltitol is one of the more common Polyols found in sugar free chocolates and we looked into it as a replacement option for Erythritol. Like most Polyols (sugar alcohols) it has around 75-80% the sweetness of table sugar (sucrose), and significantly less calories.
While Maltitol comes with a higher score on the glycemic index (52) and is known to be one of the worse Polyols in terms of causing gas, bloating or diarrhea (link).
Maltitol has been around a long time and comes cheaper than Erythritol. It is known to cause more gassiness and bloating than Erythritol, though this is dose dependent and transitory, but is otherwise regarded as a great product for food production.
In fact, Maltitol is commonly used in sugar free chocolates and candy due to it's high melting point and creamy texture, and in these low quantity portions should have limited negative impact to consumers.
With a high glycemic index (GI) score of 52, Maltitol comes in not much less than sugar (65) but much higher rating than Erythritol (0) or Xylitol (7), and this is the main problem customers on any kind of specialised low calorie, sugar free or diabetic diet will have.
Summary:
- A cheap and readily available Polyol (sugar alcohol)
- Commonly used in candy and chocolate
- May cause gassiness - though dose dependent
- High GI score (52 vs. Sugar with 65)
- We use Erythritol because it has less negative effects and because of the better GI rating. That said, we will look at Maltitol for our chocolate range if the price makes sense and our customers demand it.
Tagatose
Tagatose has a GI rating of just 3, which makes it an excellent product for specialised sugar free, low calorie and diabetic diets. It is of high interest as it is known to caramelise with all the properties of sugar except the calories.
The major drawback with Tagatose is the fact that it currently costs almost 10X the price of Erythritol (which itself is almost 10X the price of table sugar), which is prohibitively expensive.
Tagatose is one to watch though as a new American manufacturer called Bonumose has launched with funding from the largest global cane sugar producer - American Sugar Refining, Inc. - and Hershey Corporation.
Summary:
- An expensive and hard to source Polyol (sugar alcohol)
- Not commonly found due to it's high cost
- Properties much like sucrose
- Low GI score (3 vs. Sugar with 65)
- The main reason we do not use Tagatose is simply because of price. That said, if producers like Bonumose or other manufacturers can deliver a cost-effective option, then we will add this to our range.
