Popular juices, such as orange juice and apple juice, have nearly 1oz (25g) of sugar per one-cup serving (250ml). Although juice contains the vitamins and minerals one would find in fresh produce, it is devoid of most of the natural dietary fibre as an outcome of traditional methods of juicing. In addition to its intrinsic health benefits, fibre also adds to the feeling of fullness.
Better Juice’s process harnesses a natural enzymatic activity in non-genetically-modified organism (GMO) microorganisms to convert a portion of the simple fructose, glucose, and sucrose sugars into fibres and other non-digestible natural sugars. The process works on all types of sugars. Yet the process preserves the great flavour and the full complement of vitamins and other nutrients inherent in the fruits. The technology was developed in collaboration with Hebrew University in Rehovot, Israel.
“This is a natural, non-fermentative process, which occurs without adding or removing ingredients,” said Eran Blachinsky, founder and chief executive officer, Better Juice. He added, “It also will not alter the flavor or aroma of the juice.”
Better Juice uses an advanced solution that involves just one short and simple pass-through step in the juice-making process, allowing the product to be marketed at a price point comparable to other premium juice products.
”While the process does slightly reduce the sweetness of the juice,” explained Blachinsky. She added, “It actually brings out more of the fruit flavour, making for a better-tasting juice product overall.”
Better juice conducted several trials with different beverage companies and succeeded in reducing sugars in orange juice from 30 per cent, up to 80 per cent. The start-up can now provide proof of concept for orange juice.
Mono-and disaccharides often called simple sugars are easy for the body to digest and thus quickly metabolised.
If the energy they provide can’t be used, it is converted to fat and stored. But when these individual sugar molecules link up, they become prebiotic fibres that are non-digestible.
The shorter of these fibres, called oliggosaccharides, are still sweet yet have been shown to bestow a number of health benefits, from protecting against disease to helping manage weight. There are other natural monosaccharides that are not easily digested. These sugars have no glycaemic index and low calorific values.
“Consumers, especially children, enjoy drinking natural juices, but are not always aware of the less nutritious aspects of juice,” noted Blachinsky, adding, “They want the whole package — great flavour, health, and natural ingredients, including the fibres that are an essential part of fruits.”
The company will market an advanced device with the unique technology to fruit juice producers and, eventually, to cafés and restaurants.
