Application Review of Functional Sugar Alcohols in Food and Beverages

China launched the Healthy China Initiative (2019–2030) in 2019, advocating the strategy of "Three Reductions and Three Healths", namely reducing salt, oil and sugar intake. Driven by favorable policies and growing public health awareness, the concepts of sugar-free and low-sugar are leading the development of the global food and beverage industry.
As one of the primary sugar substitutes for reduced-sugar foods, functional sugar alcohols feature pure sweetness, low calorie, low glycemic index (GI), non-cariogenicity, intestinal health benefits and unique processing advantages, and have been widely applied in the food industry.
1. Xylitol
Main Application Fields: Confectionery, solid beverages, dairy products, baked goods, snacks, health food
Confectionery is the largest application segment of xylitol. Renowned brands including Mars, Mondelez and Nestlé have adopted xylitol in their newly launched chewing gums, hard candies and soft candies in 2024.
Xylitol is extensively used in new dairy products, such as Ambrosial zero-sugar probiotic yogurt and Miaoke Lando cheese sticks. When xylitol replaces sucrose in dairy products, it will not affect the fermentation duration and stability of yogurt and cheese. Meanwhile, it acts as a prebiotic, further enhancing the intestinal health benefits of dairy products and promoting calcium absorption.
2. Maltitol
Main Application Fields: Confectionery, baked goods, dairy products, health food
Statistics show that over 40% of global reduced-sugar food and beverage innovations use maltitol as a bulk sweetener. With a taste similar to sucrose, excellent moisture retention, non-crystallinity and high stability, maltitol is suitable for manufacturing various sugar-free confectionery, especially chewing gums and soft candies.
In chocolates and ice cream, maltitol imparts creamy texture, sweetness and viscosity, serving as an effective substitute for both fat and sugar. It also improves the stability of yogurt and is widely applied in zero-sugar yogurt products.
Maltitol is one of the most frequently used sugar substitutes in reduced-sugar baked goods. Its sweetness is 90% of sucrose with pure taste, and its calorie content is 60% of sucrose. As a low-GI raw material, its physical and chemical properties such as molecular weight and solubility are close to those of sucrose.
3. Sorbitol
Main Application Fields: Confectionery, baked goods, meat products, fish surimi, noodle products, beverages, jams, health food
Sorbitol is an essential additive widely applied in food, chemical industry, pharmaceuticals and daily chemicals. Confectionery is one of its major food applications. Added to soft candies, it improves softness, extends shelf life, prevents excessive drying during storage, and maintains stable taste and appearance. Thanks to its excellent compressibility, sorbitol is also widely used in compressed candies.
With strong hygroscopicity, sorbitol prevents cracking and keeps baked goods fresh and soft. It is applied in various fresh wet noodles for moisture retention, sweetness enhancement and flavor improvement.
In addition, sorbitol achieves water retention, quality improvement and shelf-life extension in meat products. When used in frozen fish surimi products, it effectively inhibits frozen denaturation of fish protein and upgrades flavor.
4. Erythritol
Main Application Fields: Beverages, weight-loss food, health food
Erythritol remains the first-choice sweetener for sugar-free beverages. With advantages including zero calorie, non-cariogenicity, low glycemic response, pure sweetness and refreshing cooling sensation, it also boasts high heat and acid stability and can mask off-flavors of other ingredients. Therefore, it is widely used in sugar-free sparkling water, tea drinks, functional beverages, sports drinks, coffee and plant-based beverages.
5. Mannitol
Main Application Fields: Confectionery, health food, pharmaceuticals
Mannitol is an isomer of sorbitol. Their key difference lies in hygroscopicity: sorbitol is highly hygroscopic, while mannitol is non-hygroscopic. Thus, mannitol serves as an effective dehydrating agent. In the pharmaceutical industry, it is used as a diuretic; in the food industry, it functions as a sweetener, anti-caking agent and excipient.
Mannitol is commonly used as an anti-caking agent in chewing gums and soft candies for effective moistureproofing.
With non-hygroscopicity, fast drying property, good chemical stability, refreshing taste and favorable granulation performance, mannitol is widely adopted as an excipient for compressed candies and health food tablets.