Sugar is unhealthy, you learn that in childhood. But the industry needs the sweet stuff. Because even if sugar damages your teeth and makes you fat: We love sweets! It is true that per capita consumption has fallen over the past three years just under 34 kilograms per year. But basically not much has changed in the past few decades: consumption has remained similarly high since the 1970s. The World Health Organization (WHO), on the other hand, has set the intake of free sugar in all phases of life to a maximum of 25 grams per day. That would be a little more than nine kilograms a year. It is clear: we are eating too much sugar!
But the industry needs sugar. It is cheap and can be found in countless foods: in muesli, sachet soup, fruit yoghurt, drinks, barbecue sauces. Only the sweetness gives many foods the kick they need.
So far, only sweeteners have been used to avoid sugar or at least to limit consumption. But also that didn’t have the best reputation. Birch sugar is now the latest hit on the sugar replacement shelf. The name xylitol hides a plant-based sweetness that has 40 percent fewer calories than table sugar. But the sugar substitute is not cheap: the substitute is up to 22 times as expensive.
The “ZDF” does the test and lets the product developer and food expert Sebastian Lege run it, who reveals the tricks with birch sugar. You can watch the program “ZDFzeit” in the Media library watch.