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Benefits of Lactitol

The benefits of lactitol are multiple.

• Lactitol is a disaccharide with many similar characteristics to sucrose, hence can be a direct replacement for sucrose in many applications.
• It is sugar free and can be used to formulate sugar free, reduced sugar and low carb products.
• Other benefits include a reduced caloric value at 2.4kcal/g, which is accepted for nutritional labeling in the EU and 2kcal/g in the USA and as such, is used to create high quality reduced calorie products.
• It is metabolised independently of insulin and as such is suitable for the diabetic diet.
• Lactitol can also be used as an active prebiotic, as studies have shown that it stimulates the growth of gut-friendly bacteria. The daily dosage required to encourage this activity is low, hence neither taste nor texture are compromised.
• Lactitol has a glycamic index of 3± 1 and as such is considered to be low or even non-glycaemic, therefore highly recommended for today’s diet.  Lactitol is not fermented in the mouth and as such is tooth-friendly, as it will not contribute to the formation of dental caries.

Application areas for Lactitol

Lactitol is a widely used ingredient for sugar free chocolate applications, baked goods and ice cream, providing reduced calorie, sugar free, suitable for diabetics and prebiotic finished goods.

Lactitol is used in all major markets around the world in:

• Chocolate
• Baked goods
• Chewing gum
• Ice cream
• Fruit preparations
• Confectionery
• Table-top sweeteners
• Cryoprotectant for surimi
• Certain pharmaceutical preparations

Lactitol products

Lactitol crystallizes in several anhydrous and hydrous forms and is available in both monohydrate and anhydrous grades, depending on the application required. Examples of products are:

Product	Benefit	Application
Crystalline - Lactitol MC - Lactitol AC	Monohydrate Anhydrous	All All primarily chocolate
Milled - Lactitol CM - Lactitol ACM	Monohydrate Anhydrous	All All primarily chocolate
Directly compressible - Finlac™ DC		Tablets

Finlac™ DC is a directly compressible grade of lactitol, a disaccharide sugar alcohol derived commercially from lactose. It can be used in both the pharmaceutical and confectionary markets.

Characteristic for Finlac™ DC is that

• Finlac™ DC has been specifically designed for use as a directly compressible carrier dilutant for tableting.
• It readily compresses to form compacts over a range of compression forces and a variety of shapes and sizes can be achieved.
• Different levels of hardness can also be obtained. It is not lubricant sensitive, hence tablets hold their structure. The high specification tableting machines used today demand high performance raw materials, especially excipients.
• Finlac™ DC has excellent flow properties and compresses well at both low and high speeds with little or no weight variation coefficients.
• Tablets formulated with Finlac™ DC also easily comply with current pharmacopoeia disintegration tests.
• High water solubility means it can be used in both chewable and swallowable tablet forms as this can improve both mouthfeel and taste but more importantly, from a pharmaceutical prospective; allow faster drug release.
• Finlac™ DC has a low sweetness, which renders it suitable as an inert carrier for active agents and flavours.
• It can improve the nutritional profile of tablets, as it is sugar free.
• It has a very low hygroscopicity and this together with excellent flow properties makes it extremely easy to handle. Formulations will not pick up moisture, ensuring greater stability, especially to those containing moisture-sensitive active ingredients.

Raw materials

Danisco produced lactitol by catalytic hydrogenation of lactose and further crystallization ensures the highest purity and flowability.

Legal status varies from country to country. Local food regulations should always be consulted concerning the status of this product, as legislation regarding its use in food may vary from country to country.