Low GI sugar to provide manufacturers with healthier alternative
Two Australian companies are hopeful that today’s launch of a new form of natural sugar will boost the sugar industry and offer a healthier option to manufacturers and consumers.
The product, LoGiCane, is the brainchild of Melbourne-based company Horizon Science and, in combination with the Mossman Sugar Mill, they have produced the world’s first low-glycemic sugar.
Independent tests have reportedly found the new sugar’s glycemic index (GI) to be 50, compared to an average of 65 for white sugar, meaning the normal spike in blood glucose levels will be reduced.
Horizon Science CEO, Dr Barry Kitchen, believes the product will have great appeal to manufacturers around the world, although the focus will initially be on the Australian market.
“We’ve got to get …. everything right first in Australia, demonstrate that the retail product is acceptable and people love it,” he told the ABC. “We’ll move into more industrial larger volumes of sugar that can be used by food manufacturers and with all that happening obviously we’ll be talking and seeing what we can do internationally.”
It is suggested that the product could assist in reducing rates of obesity, diabetes and blood pressure, provided a moderate intake is still maintained.
