Tagatose becomes first sweetener to attain NutraStrong Prebiotic Verified Certification

14 Mar 2024 --- Tagatose producer Bonumose and distributor ASR Group have announced that the monosaccharide sweetener has become the first ingredient to receive the independent NutraStrong Prebiotic Verified certification, endorsing the product’s ability to nourish beneficial gut bacteria and promote digestive health.

“The NutraStrong Prebiotic Verified certification creates a standard of quality for prebiotic products,” an ASR Group spokesperson tells Nutrition Insight. “Through tagatose becoming a certified ingredient, the Prebiotic Certified program has become accessible to all products utilizing tagatose produced by Bonumose. This access gives brands the ability to certify and promote their own usage of tagatose.”

The move comes at a time when demand for gut health products is growing, with the company pointing to Innova Market Insights data, which reveals product launches featuring prebiotic ingredients reached 6% CAGR between 2017-2023.

Kevin Yan, VP of certifications and analytics at SGS Nutrasource, the company that administers the NutraStrong certification, comments: “By becoming a certified ingredient, Bonumose gained access to the Prebiotic Certified program for all products utilizing their tagatose. This access gives brands the ability to certify and promote their own usage of tagatose, highlighting the benefits of such quality ingredients.”

Tagatose comparison to other sweeteners (Image Credit: ASR Group).Versatile applications
Discussing the criteria, tagatose met to attain the NutraStrong Prebiotic Verified certification; the spokesperson elaborates that the product met the key verification points of NutraStrong.

"This includes testing standards, label compliance, manufacturing quality and corporate values. Prebiotic Verified guarantees a thorough review of input ingredients, stability, and ingredient efficacy.”

Addressing how tagatose’s prebiotic properties contribute to improved gut health, the spokesperson points to the scientific evidence supporting this claim.

“According to studies documented in scientific literature, when consumed, most of the tagatose reaches the lower gastrointestinal tract, where it serves as a substrate for specific bacterial species. These bacteria ferment tagatose, producing short-chain fatty acids including butyrate.”

According to ASR Group, the properties tagatose offers to manufacturers are what make the product competitive. 

“Our testing shows that tagatose tastes and performs closer to sucrose than other alternatives. It offers a texture and mouthfeel similar to sucrose, and it has no bitter aftertaste. Compared to sucrose, it is 90% as sweet with 60% fewer calories.”

The ingredient has a low glycemic index of 3, meaning that it does not raise blood glucose levels when consumed on its own.  

Tagatose is also Ketogenic Certified, Non-GMO Project Verified and Plant-Based Certified.

“We believe tagatose has tremendous potential as a lower calorie, low GI sweetener, and we are continually testing new ways to use tagatose in a wide variety of food, beverage, and nutraceutical applications,” the spokesperson concludes. 

 ASR Group is exhibiting at Natural Products Expo West 2024, March 13-16, in Anaheim, California, US, booth #1013.

By Milana Nikolova