Tagatose – You’re It!

The “brass ring” of ingredients for better-for-you foods and beverages was often said to be a “sugar replacer” that has the flavor, functionality, and organoleptic features of the standard full-calorie sugars—glucose, fructose, and sucrose—but not the calories. Two such sweeteners have made landfall in recent years, allulose and tagatose.

Both of these sweeteners are found in nature, but in small amounts and so gained the classification of “rare sugars.” Allulose boasts near-zero calories, and tagatose has only a third of the calories of sucrose. Ingredient technology has made these rare sugars not so rare, as methods of extracting them made it possible to produce them in quantity. Coupled with their sucrose-like flavor and approval as safe sugars, interest in them among developers of better-for-you foods and beverages is riding high. While allulose has been well-covered in Prepared Foods, tagatose being the newer of the two merits a closer look.

Tagatose is naturally occurring in dairy, although trace amounts occur in fruits and other plant foods. It is 92% as sweet as sucrose, yet delivers only 1.5 kcals/g. It also is non-hyperglycemic (doesn’t raise blood sugar and has a GI of 3)—ideal for foods supporting blood sugar management. It also is non-cariogenic (doesn’t or cause dental caries) and therefore products made with tagatose could qualify for the FDA “tooth-friendly” dental-health claim, provided they conform to all other parameters for such approval.

Tagatose is derived from dairy sugars (the galactose portion of lactose), starch, or maltodextrin. It’s made either by isomerization with calcium hydroxide, neutralization with a food-grade acid, or even produced via microorganisms. (However, such biological production so far is too costly to produce sufficient tagatose at scale.)

Most importantly, and where tagatose differs from all other sugars, in March, 2024 tagatose was granted “NutraStrong™ Prebiotic Verified” certification by the Global Prebiotic Association, meaning that in addition to sweetness it also helps support digestive health and therefore immune function.

Working with Tagatose

While, its flavor is closest to sucrose (allulose more closely mimics its epi-isomer, fructose), tagatose is even more neutral, with no flavor back notes or off notes. In fact, tagatose has one of the most neutral flavor profiles of any nutritive sweetener. Although tagatose performs well with other sugars, it does not usually need to be paired with other sweeteners, such as high-intensity ones like stevia or monkfruit. It needs no maskers or enhancers, and its “clean” flavor can even help bring other flavors to the forefront.

Tagatose has a good Maillard Reaction, and performs especially well across a range of categories, including beverages, confectionary, baked goods. It is a fine, free-flowing granulated crystal, and has the same bulking and texturing capacities as sucrose. Tagatose can thus perform as a 1:1 drop-in for many formulations, while lowering calories from sugars by 60% or more.

Sweeter by the Dozen

For more on nutritive (caloric) sweeteners, check out “Sweet Truths” in the November issue of Prepared Foods. And, if you go to the search bar and type in “sweeteners” you’ll find more than 1,600 articles, videos, podcasts, infographics, and other resources for formulating with both nutritive and non-nutritive sweeteners.

Growing Interest

The tagatose market size was valued at USD161.2 million in 2023 and is anticipated to register a CAGR of more than 4.7% between 2024 and 2032. Tagatose is a naturally occurring, low-calorie monosaccharide, similar in structure to fructose. It's derived from lactose, found in dairy products, through a patented process. — “Tagatose Market Size & Share, Industry Analysis 2024-2032” by Global Market Insights, Inc.

David Feder, RDN, has been a food, nutrition and health journalist for 26 years. In spite of an academic background that began with psychology and biblical archaeology, David cut his teeth as a celebrated chef in Texas during the 1970s and 1980s, helping pioneer haute-health & fusion cuisines in high-end restaurants and hotels. In the 1990s he became a registered dietitian while completing research and coursework toward a Ph.D. in nutrition biochemistry at the University of Texas at Austin. Along the way he taught food science and nutrition while practicing as a nutrition counselor.

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