SEOUL - South Korea has become a top testing ground for the sweetener allulose, a potential rival to sugar substitutes like stevia that is finding favour among both local food influencers and big domestic food companies, which are ramping up production.

       Found naturally in figs, kiwis and other fruits, allulose has been approved by both US and South Korean regulators.

       It can be found in candies and protein bars in the US but commercialised sweetener products of allulose are mostly sold online or at selected grocery stores.

       In South Korea, however, it has caught on more widely and is now easily available in supermarkets for less than 10,000 won (S$9.60) per 700ml bottle.

       That is still pricey at about four times the cost of table sugar, but manufacturers and researchers say it is 70 per cent as sweet as sugar and almost calorie-free.

       “It tastes the closest to table sugar,” said Mr Renaud Joly, a French vegan influencer based in Seoul.

       But even as top South Korean food and beverage companies Daesang and Samyang invest in new production facilities, health experts warn that more research is needed into the long-term health effects of allulose.

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       It also has yet to gain widespread approval by the regulatory authorities worldwide, and high production costs limit its use as a commercial sweetener.

       “Allulose isn’t the first sugar substitute to make headlines for being the ‘best new food product’,” said Ms Elizabeth Traxler, a registered dietician at University Hospitals, a US-based academic medical centre.

       It does, however, have slight benefits for weight loss and can be helpful to individuals with diabetes, she added.

       When consumed in combination with sugars like sucrose, allulose can lower the blood glucose response, a benefit not many other sweeteners can produce.

       Samyang said it now sells more than 1,000 tonnes of allulose to retail customers annually, citing sales growth at a double-digit pace since 2020 and business-to-business revenue of more than 10 billion won in 2022.

       Earlier in 2024, it opened a 140 billion won factory that can produce 13,000 tonnes of allulose annually, more than quadruple its previous output.

       The company, which supplies allulose to Coca-Cola Korea Company for a zero-calorie soft drink, said it has been cleared to begin selling its allulose products in Australia and New Zealand later in 2024.

       Market research firm Grand View Research estimates the global market for allulose will grow to more than US$500 million (S$658.68 million) by 2030 from about US$310 million in 2024.

       By comparison, the global market for stevia was more than US$514 million in 2023.

       But the European Union, Canada and other countries view it as a “novel food” that has yet to be sufficiently assessed for safety.

       The World Health Organisation (WHO) in 2023 issued a guideline advising against using non-sugar sweeteners for weight control purposes, citing potential undesirable long-term effects.

       Two groups linked to the WHO in 2023 declared the popular sweetener aspartame a “possible carcinogen” but said it remained safe to consume at already-agreed levels.

       Ms Traxler said that when allulose is consumed in large quantities, possible side effects include gastrointestinal distress such as diarrhoea and bloating.

       Samyang’s head of speciality food ingredients Park Sung-won said the biggest challenge has been making the sweetener affordable and raising consumer awareness, but he added: “We believe allulose is a material with potential for the future.” REUTERS