MycoTechnology has announced that its Zukora Honey Truffle Sweet Protein has achieved self-affirmed "Generally Recognized as Safe" (GRAS) status and is now commercially available at scale in the US for use in food and beverages.
The company said that the achievement was verified by a "comprehensive safety assessment and uncontested independent expert panel evaluation."
"This landmark is the result of a multi-year discovery journey and signals a meaningful step forward in sugar reduction," said Jordi Ferre, MycoTechnology CEO.
By combining our scientific expertise with a steadfast commitment to improve the food supply, our team unlocked a transformative new food and beverage ingredient that redefines sugar reduction.
"We look forward to mainstreaming the use of Honey Truffle Sweet Protein as a significant advancement in sugar reduction solutions."
Why this matters
Reducing sugar intake in the US is a public health priority, with three in four American consumers looking to limit or avoid added sugar.
However, taste remains the top driver of food and beverage purchases.
Honey Truffle Sweet Protein offers manufacturers a unique sweetening approach that enables the creation of good-tasting, better-for-you foods and beverages that align with both consumer expectations and public health objectives.
The company's flagship product, Honey Truffle Sweet Protein, is a naturally derived ingredient that uses the sweetness of the Hungarian honey truffle. The brand name for the ingredient is Zukora, a name "inspired by its Hungarian origin."
MycoTechnology successfully isolated the protein responsible for this sweetness and produces the sweetening ingredient through fermentation of the protein.
According to the company, this innovation enables scalable, sustainable production that is cost-effective and less resource-intensive than other sweetening solutions.
The news follows Mycotechnology's successful scaling of production of Zukora Honey Truffle Sweet Protein from the pilot plant to manufacturing batches.
Coupled with the newly achieved self-affirmed GRAS status, this advancement in scalability opens new possibilities for sugar reduction in the US marketplace, with the brand aiming to target applications such as functional beverages, bars and confectionery.