Mondelez Patents Sugar-Reducing Process for Chocolate

The process aims to reduce total sugar in chocolate products by at least 10 percent and by as much as 50 percent.

I Stock 1075656000
iStock

In June 2019, a patent belonging to Mondelez International was filed for a chocolate manufacturing process aimed to reduce the amount of sugar and calorie content in products.

The patent, published Dec. 19 and shared on Jan. 17, states the process would replace at least part of added sugar content with a soluble corn fiber, with the end result aimed to reduce total sugar in chocolate products by at least 10 percent and by as much as 50 percent.

I Stock 1163752203The patent was filed by Kraft Foods, though the intellectual property belongs to Mondelez, which was spun off from Kraft in the fall of 2012.

The patent states said the applications for the process could include chocolate bars, fillings for chocolate-shelled products, or in baked goods. It could also be used in chocolate coatings, sprinkles and flakes, or nut spreads.

The patent noted that chocolate is generally considered to contain relatively high sugar and calories, and that consumers and public health bodies are becoming increasingly concerned about such sugar content in foods — especially in confectionery products such as chocolate. It goes on to note that low-sugar/lower-calorie confectionery products are growing in popularity, but that many previous attempts by manufacturers to replace sugar have been unsuccessful, with resulting products having inferior taste or texture compared to “full sugar” products.

The soluble corn fiber solution is said to reduce the total amount of sugar without significantly impacting the properties of the chocolate composition.

“The chocolate composition and may therefore be considered a reduced sugar chocolate,” the patent states. “The chocolate composition may have a similar taste and texture to the reference chocolate. The chocolate composition may be used to reduce the calorie intake, especially the intake of sugars, in consumers of chocolate and may therefore provide a health benefit to said consumers.”

More in Ingredients