Reduction of Sugars Intake

Relevance to our business

Prevention of obesity and lifestyle diseases by eliminating the excessive intake of sugars is gaining interest worldwide. In 2015, the World Health Organization (WHO) published a guideline that recommends adults and children should reduce their daily intake of sugars to less than 10% of their total energy intake. (A further reduction to below 5% would provide additional health benefits.)
As a B-to-B food ingredient manufacturer, the Fuji Oil Group has carried out extensive research into plant-based protein ingredients that can be used to replace certain sugars in food.^* We are also working to develop and grow sales of sugar-free chocolate.

• * Some of the sugar contained in staple foods (bread, rice, noodles, etc.) and confectioneries can be replaced with our plant-based protein ingredients without sacrificing taste. We suggest that customers use our plant-based protein ingredients as a portion of their recipe for making bread, rice balls, boxed meals, and other food products to reduce their carbohydrate content.

Basic approach

The Fuji Oil Group aims to improve global health by providing solutions for reducing sugars intake without sacrificing taste. We can provide customers and consumers with food ingredients that, by replacing some of the sugars with protein, have excellent nutritional balance and are still delicious. By proposing and providing high-protein foods that are low in sugars, we will help solve consumers’ excessive intake of sugars.

Management system

The Chief Technology Officer (CTO) oversees initiatives in this area. The Sustainability Committee,^*1 an advisory body to the Board of Directors, monitors the progress and results of initiatives as a material ESG issue.^*2

• *1 https://www.fujioilholdings.com/en/sustainability/sustainability_management/

• *2 https://www.fujioilholdings.com/en/sustainability/materiality/

Goals / Results

Analysis

There is consumer demand for low-sugar and protein-fortified foods such as rice and noodles, and the use of soy protein has been accepted. We have also developed a technique to improve sugar-free drinks, balancing drinkability with reduced sugar content, and proposed the recipe to our customers.

Next Step

Offering food ingredients that are low in sugars is important to reduce sugars intake, which is a risk factor of lifestyle diseases and obesity. To address this, we set the following goals for FY2023.

Expanding our lineup of low-sugar foods

The Fuji Oil Group is working to propose and provide nutritionally balanced food products that replace some of the sugars in high-carb foods (e.g., staple foods, sweets) with protein in the Japanese market. For instance, partially replacing sugars with proteins in staple foods, such as bread and boxed meals, allows them to reduce easily the amount of sugars without sacrificing taste.

Meal options with low-sugar rice ingredients (Rice balls, fried rice, beef rice bowl)

• * The photos are for illustration purposes only.

Reduced-sugar and sugar-free chocolate

In North America, the market demand on sugar-free chocolate has shown an annual growth of above 20% in the past few years, reflecting rising health awareness among consumers. Although sales of sugar-free chocolate were adversely affected by escalating prices in 2022, health awareness remains high, with consumers citing total calories and sugar content as important factors when selecting products. Blommer Chocolate Company (U.S.) continues to supply customers a chocolate with sugar content dramatically lower than existing products but with great flavor and taste. This chocolate uses sugar as the only sweetener and eliminates sugar content by 50%, while maintaining the great taste and satisfaction as conventional chocolate.
There is also high demand for sugar-free or reduced-sugar chocolate in other regions including Australia and the EU. The Fuji Oil Group is continuously responding to the market requirements. By providing food options, we are helping consumers to reduce their intake of sugars.