Nestle to cut sugar in chocolate by 40%

Extracted from 
Rebecca Marston Business reporter, BBC News
1 December 2016

Swiss food giant, Nestle, says it has made a scientific breakthrough that allows it to cut the sugar in its chocolate almost in half.

The company claims its researchers have found a way to structure sugar differently so that it uses 40% less without affecting the taste.

Nestle says it is patenting the findings, and it would start using the new sugar across its range from 2018.

Its scientists altered the structure of sugar so that it dissolves more quickly.

This fools the taste buds, with the effect of raising the sweetness, according to  Nestle.

It is hard to generalise about how much sugar is in chocolate, as it varies from brand to brand.

But milk chocolate is typically 50% sugar - some of which comes from the milk used.

White chocolate could be as much as 60% sugar.

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The amount of sugar in dark chocolate is highly variable. It can be as much as 40%, but it can have no sugar in it at all, although most people would consider that much too bitter.

Nestle has been cutting sugar across its range of products since 2007 when it introduced a "global policy on sugar reduction".