A New Quality Guideline for Natural Color Liquid Sugar for Food and Beverages

Changing the Way We Think about Sugar

When CSC Sugar (and then Sugaright) entered the liquid sugar market decades ago, many food and beverage companies had specifications for liquid sugar that could only be met by the liquification of traditionally refined granulated sugar.

However modern food and beverage manufacturers are seeking more diversity of ingredients, not less, including organic or natural color sugars for a variety of market driven reasons. The presence of organic sugar and natural colored liquid sugars in popular beverage brands, and beverages has provided the industry a proof of concept that old standards based solely on the white refined sugar specifications is outdated, limiting to supply and very energy and water intensive to produce.

Background

The demand for natural, organic, and sustainable ingredients in food and beverages continues to grow, driven by consumer preferences and regulatory trends. According to Spins, a natural channel marketplace data service, the health and wellness beverage market share is 39% of the market. (Spins IFT 2024 “A Thirst for Change” Presentation.) The trends driving the growth of the “health and wellness beverage market” mainly concern sustainability, clean label and/or organic ingredients. The use of naturally colored liquid sugar (RBU 350) meets these trends for sustainability and clean label or organic certification. Instead of over refining to water white, Sugaright’s innovative process has fewer steps, offering the industry a more sustainable choice for their food and beverage products.

A New Normal

The following table compares natural colored and traditional liquid sugar specifications. With years of experience and thousands of load delivered, the data is clear.  There are VERY FEW beverage and food ingredients that require the old specifications. And now with the prevalence of organic sugar in the marketplace with much broader specs no wonder most food and innovative beverage companies have accepted the new specifications.

Parameter	Natural color Liquid Sucrose	Traditional Liquid Sucrose Guideline	Rationale
Color (IU Max)	350	45	Plant pigments contribute to the color. Not all beverages require a water white color.
pH	6.0 to 8.6	6.0 to 8.6	Maintains consistency in beverage formulations.
Turbidity (IU Max)	20	20	Ensures clarity for applications where transparency is critical.
Sensory	No objectionable taste or odor	No objectionable taste or odor	Maintains beverage quality.
Microbial Limits (CFU/g Max)	Mesophiles <200cfu/g, Yeasts <10cfu/g, Mold <10cfu/g	Mesophiles <200cfu/10g, Yeasts <10cfu/10g, Mold <10cfu/10g	Organic sugar and liquid sugar processed from raw sugar will present slightly higher microbial loads, but these loads are not necessarily higher risk for the food and beverage maker.
Metals (mg/kg Max)	Lead 0.1, Arsenic 0.1, Copper 1, Iron 1, Sodium 6, Potassium NA, Calcium NA	Lead 0.1, Arsenic 0.1, Copper 1, Iron 1, Sodium 6, Potassium NA, Calcium NA	These should be similar and reflect food safety parameters.

New QUALITY GUIDELINE FOR NATURAL COLOR LIQUID SUCROSE

This guide is for food and beverage makers utilizing a liquid sucrose that was refined directly from a raw state and never crystallized. This may be organic sugar or liquid refined from raw sugar.  The organic or raw sugar is melted with the addition of sanitary water. The liquid sucrose may be further filtered, passed through UV treatment, or other kill steps to reduce microbial loads and colorants. For the analytical tests, we refer back to ICUMSA.

Analytical and Microbiological Guideline

Analytical		Rationale
Ash	<0.12% if necessary	Most products may not be affected by this parameter. It is up to the brand manager to determine if ash may impact flavor or stability. However, de-ashing is a highly water and heat intensive process. If high ash products are added to the beverage, such as nutrients, or natural products like juices, it is NOT recommended to make ash a strict specification on the sugar as it will limit the supply options.
Brix	66 – 68% RDS	Process Capability
Color	350 IU Max	Sensory
pH	6-8.6	Process Capability
Sensory	No Objectional	Sensory
Turbidity	20 IU Max	Sensory
Metals
Lead	0.1 mg/kg max.	Regulatory
Arsenic	0.1 mg/kg max.	Regulatory
Copper	1 mg/kg max.	Sensory
Iron	1 mg/kg max.	Sensory
Potassium	2 mg/100 g Max	Sensory
Calcium	1 mg/100 g Max	Sensory
Sodium	6 mg/kg Max	Sensory
Microbiological**		**If microbial limits need to be more strict, based on beverage formulation, please refer to the Compendium of Microbiological Spoilage of Food and the Bottlers Association Liquid Sugar Guideline for acceptance criteria. In the author’s view, this is a more reasonable set of criteria for liquid sugar.
Mesophiles	<200 cfu/g max	Process Capability
Yeasts	<10 cfu/g	Process Capability
Mold	<10 cfu/g	Process Capability

** The American Bottlers of Carbonated Beverages Liquid Sugar Guideline adopted in 1959

A. Mesophilic bacteria (a) Last 20 samples should average 100 organisms or less per 10 (b) 95% of the last 20 counts should be 200 or less per 10 g; (c) 1 of 20 samples may be greater than 200; other counts should be the same as in (a) or (b).

B. Yeasts: (a) The last 20 samples should average 10 organisms or less per 10 g (b) 95% of the last 20 counts should be 18 or less per 10 g; (c) 1 of 20 samples may be greater than 18; other counts should be the same as in (a) and (b).

C. Molds: Specifications are the same as those for yeasts.

Color

Natural Color Liquid Sucrose will have a range of color options. Due to less steps in processing, the color that remains in the sucrose will be from plant pigments in the form of plant-based polysaccharides and polyphenols. Since beverages may or may not be impacted by liquid sucrose color depending upon many factors including pH, final brix, and additional cloud or colors present in the beverage, a higher color liquid sugar may provide some flexibility in purchasing. It is recommended that any beverage formulator fully test all sugars for interaction with colors, pigments or juices or any other material and determine a visual test that verifies color is as intended.

Turbidity

Fines from carbon filtration, excess silica, and other natural sources may create more turbidity in the sugar. It is recommended that any beverage formulator fully test the natural color sugars for impact to their products.

Floc

Current research shows purification of sugar alone will not prevent Acid Beverage Floc (ABF). According to research from Morton in 2001 and before, the presence of saponins was established to be the root cause of acid beverage floc derived from beet sugar. However, saponins are not present in cane sugar. The research on cane sugar from Lemos in 2013 showed that dextran and starches are indicators of ABF formation from cane sugar harvested under duress. The color bodies or polyphenols in the liquid sugar were not a factor for ABF according to Lemos. Additionally, G. Eggleston established in 2017 the use of activated carbon supports the removal of starches in cane sugars. Despite this data, it is recommended to test any sugar for the floc potential if it is deemed a risk in the product being made.

Ash

Typical levels of ash of natural color sucrose will be lower than 0.12%, however several beverage products have other ingredients that add ash into the beverage at a higher level than the sugar (such as tea, juices, nutrients etc). Therefore, Ash is deemed optional and based on product risk to interaction with ash, which is extremely rare.

Microbiology Testing and Levels

Natural color liquid sucrose products are derived directly from raw sugars with fewer steps and no evaporation. Therefore, the microbial limits in this guideline are reflective of the principles to establish microbiological limits as laid out in CODEX and by the ICMSF, including the consideration of the evidence of actual or potential hazards to health and the microbiological status of the raw materials. These limits reflect excellent process control and good manufacturing practices, from the kill step at melting stage (70˚ C) for most vegetative organisms. Furthermore, spore forming microorganisms and thermophiles may be decreased or eliminated in filtration stages, or with in-line UV as part of the sugar refining process. The limits in this guideline support beverage applications that have additional kill steps or other hurdles that prevent microbial growth. However, if a beverage is low acid (higher pH), preserved only with no additional heat step, or sensitive to further microbial growth because of additional bio burden from other ingredients, the American Bottlers of Carbonated Beverages liquid sugar guideline is a more reasoned approach for acceptance criteria** . To measure the microflora levels, 10 g of inoculum may be plated for a more accurate count. Direct plate method or membrane filtration may be employed.

4. References

Christian, J. H. B. (1983). Microbiological criteria for foods. Summary of recommendations of FAO/WHO expert consultations and working groups 1975–1981. VPH/83.54. Geneva: World Health Organization.

Gillian Eggleston, Isabel Lima, Emmanuel Sarir, Jack Thompson, John Zatlokovicz, Eldwin St. Cyr Use of activated carbon to remove undesirable residual amylase from refinery streams. Sugar Industry/Zuckerindustrie Vol.: 142 No. 2 Page: 96 – 103 (2017).

ICMSF (International Commission on Microbiological Specifications for Foods) (2005) Microorganisms in foods 6: microbial ecology of food commodities, 2nd edn. Kluwer Academic/Plenum, New York, Chapter 12 Sugar, syrups and honey.

International Commission on Microbiological Specifications for Foods (ICMSF). (2018). Selection and Use of Acceptance Criteria. In: Microorganisms in Foods 7. Springer, Cham.

Lemos, L.R., Nogueira, A., Wosiacki, G. et al. The Influence of Different Amounts of Dextran and Starch in Crystallized Sugar in the Formation of Floc in Acidic Carbonated Solutions and Alcoholic Solutions. Sugar Tech 15, 65–70 (2013).

Morton PA, Murray BS. Acid beverage floc: protein-saponin interactions and an unstable emulsion model. Colloids Surf B Biointerfaces. 2001 Jul;21(1-3):101-106. doi: 10.1016/s0927-7765(01)00188-6. PMID: 11377939.

Sperber, William H, and Doyle, Michael Eds. Compendium of Microbiological Spoilage of Foods, Springer Science, New York, 2009. pg 306. (1959 American Bottlers of Carbonated Beverages Liquid Sucrose micro specification mention).