Title: Alternative Sweeteners

440 Richards and Dexter
IX. SHELF-LIFE AND TRANSPORT
To ensure that its product continued to meet food grade specifications over an
extended shelf-life, HBC conducted analyses on commercial grade samples of
trehalose stored for up to 24 months. Twenty kilograms of trehalose was stored
at 25°C in three-layer Kraft paper bags in which one of the layers was polyethylene.
One hundred-gram samples were taken from the same bag at 0, 1, 3, 6, 9,
12, 18, and 24 months and tested for eight variables. The results confirmed that
the material maintained integrity over the storage period, with little variation in
the product.
Since becoming commercially available in Japan in November of 1995
until the end of 1998, a cumulative total of more than 15,000 metric tons has
been sold. It is anticipated that in excess of 15,000 metric tons will be sold during
1999 in Japan. There has not been a recall of trehalose because of degradation
of the product.
No data on the stability of trehalose in specific products is yet available.
However, because trehalose is chemically, thermally, and pH stable, it suggests
that trehalose may aid in the stabilization of the products in which it is used.
Transport of trehalose is not restricted in Japan. It is not anticipated that
any such restrictions will be placed on trehalose by any government agencies.
X. COST AND AVAILABILITY
Trehalose is currently being sold in Japan for approximately 300 Yen (¥) per
kilogram ($2.50/kg @ 120 ¥ to $1.00 USD). Prices are slightly higher in Korea
and Taiwan. To the authors’ knowledge, HBC is the only commercially available
source of a purified trehalose product. Once regulatory approval is obtained in
North America and the European Union, it will be commercially available
through a marketing partner(s). Other groups are undoubtedly investigating alternative
methods for the production of trehalose, but none are known to be commercially
available at this time.
XI. REGULATORY STATUS
Quadrant Holdings (Cambridge, United Kingdom) received approval for trehalose
to be used as a novel food from the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and
Food in the United Kingdom. The approval, granted in 1991, is for the use of
trehalose as a cryoprotectant for freeze-dried foods. Use levels were limited to
5% for each formulation. Trehalose produced by HBC was approved as a food