Soon, Choco With 40% Less Sugar

Nestle SA said that it has found a way to reduce the amount of sugar in chocolate by as much as 40%, a discovery that may give the Kit-Kat maker an edge as food producers face increasing pressure from governments, health advocates and shoppers to make products healthier. The world’s largest food company has developed a process to alter the structure of sugar that makes it taste sweeter in smaller amounts, according to chief technology officer Stefan Catsicas. Nestle will start selling products made using the new process in 2018 and will gradually reduce their sugar content. The move comes as the UK, Mexico and some US cities have levied sugar taxes to help fight childhood obesity and diabetes, which affects four times as many people now than in 1980. The World Health Organisation has said increasing the price of sugary drinks by 20% would reduce consumption by a fifth. “We want people to get used to a different taste, a taste that would be more natural,” Catsicas said. Nestle is seeking to patent the sugar-reduction process, which Catsics likened to making sugar crystals that are “hollow.” The crystals dissolve more quickly, stimulating the taste buds faster, he said. Unprocessed food has complex structures, which Nestle is trying to mimic by distributing the sugar in a less uniform way.