Kraft Heinz Partners with Wyss Institute to Make Sugar Healthier

Kraft Heinz funded two years of research at the Wyss Institute at Harvard University in Boston to develop sugar that turns into fiber in the gut, which reduces the amount of sugar absorbed into the bloodstream.

The research is based on enzymes that plants use to convert sugar into fiber. To tackle this challenge, the Wyss team gathered researchers from across the institute. After evaluating different potential avenues of research, the team settled on an approach based on naturally occurring enzymes that plants use to convert sugar into fiber. These enzymes could theoretically be added to foods without modifying their sugar content, and then would convert the sugar into fiber once they reached the human gut. Not only would this technique reduce the amount of sugar absorbed into the bloodstream, it would also produce gut-healthy prebiotic fiber.

After months of experimentation, they were able to engineer an enzyme product that would remain encapsulated until exposed to an increase in pH, such as that which occurs in the transition from the human stomach to the intestine, where it would activate and start converting sugar to fiber. The researchers are now working to test the enzyme product in mice so they can track its effects on dietary sugar in a living organism, with hopes to launch a startup to offer the product for sale to food companies.

Sugar cannot be avoided just by reducing its quantity in recipes as it also fulfills other roles in baking: from caramelization to preservation, from thickening to increasing acidity. “We thought we’d come to the Wyss with an impossible problem, and they turned it on its head to present an even crazier idea to solve it,” said Judith Moca, head of technology discovery and development at Kraft Heinz.

The findings may help Kraft Heinz reach its goal of reducing the total amount of sugar in its products by over 60 million lbs by 2025, said John Topinka, research strategy lead at Kraft Heinz.