Isomalt

Description

Isomalt (also: palatinite) is a sugar alcohol and is suitable as a sugar substitute for diabetic persons. It displays approximately 40 per cent of the sweetening power of sugar.

• Isomalt is manufactured exclusively from sugar. This manufacture occurs in two steps:
  (1) saccharose is made into isomaltulose through enzymatic reconstruction. This process has been applied since the middle of the 1980s
  (2) isomaltulose is hydrated into isomalt with the aid of nickel catalysts.

Application

Isomalt is used in various products and fulfils differing technological tasks, such as:

• sugar substitute in products for diabetic persons, for example in sweets, chewing gum, ice cream
• stabiliser in frozen foods
• carrier for volatile flavours and vitamins

Gene technology

The source material sugar may stem from genetically modified sugar beet. In the EU, food and feed is approved that is derived from a GM sugar beet that is cultivated in North America. The commercial cultivation of GM sugar beet is not planned at the moment.
In the EU, sugar currently is derived exclusively from conventional beets.

Labelling: Isomalt is indeed derived from sugar but is subject to many steps in processing. It remains legally unclear if isomalt must be labelled as such if its source material sugar stems from genetically modified sugar beets.