For decades, high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) has gone from being a go-to sweetener in countless processed foods to an ingredient that is now intentionally avoided. This shift is largely due to changes in consumer perception as concerns have only grown about the long-term impact of HFCS on numerous aspects of health. Now manufacturers face the challenge of replacing it with alternatives that provide similar functionality while using ingredients consumers actually recognize. Apple-based ingredients like juice concentrate and puree offer a natural alternative from a recognizable source.
The Food and Drug Administration’s requirements for listing “added sugars” on nutrition labels changed how manufacturers think about sweeteners. High fructose corn syrup has been highly scrutinized because it contributes directly to the added sugars count while also appearing as an undesirable ingredient on the ingredients list. This combination has pushed manufacturers to look for sweetening alternatives that might perform better on both fronts. Apple juice concentrate and puree provide sweetness from fruit, though they face similar labeling requirements.1
The FDA’s definition of added sugars includes fruit juice concentrates when they’re used to sweeten a product beyond what the fruit itself would naturally contribute. This means that in most applications, apple juice concentrate does count as added sugar on nutrition labels. If a manufacturer adds apple juice concentrate to applesauce to make it sweeter, that extra sweetness must be listed as added sugar. The same applies to using apple concentrate in granola bars, baked goods, or sauces where it functions primarily as a sweetener rather than as a fruit ingredient.
There are specific exceptions where fruit concentrates aren’t counted as added sugar. These include using concentrate to reconstitute 100% juice, contributing to the fruit juice percentage in juice blends, or standardizing the natural sweetness levels in single-strength juices. However, these exceptions apply mainly to beverage applications and don’t cover most food products where manufacturers might want to use apple concentrate as an HFCS replacement.2
Apple juice concentrate is essentially apple juice with most of the water removed, creating a syrupy liquid that’s rich in natural sugars and retains a mild apple flavor. The concentration process makes it easier to transport and store than fresh juice while providing intense sweetness in a small volume. By contrast, apple puree uses the whole fruit (often without the peel) and is blended into a thick substance with a consistency similar to applesauce. Unlike concentrate, puree contains the fruit’s fiber and maintains more of the whole-fruit structure.
Both ingredients provide sweetness, but they work differently in different formulations. Apple juice concentrate delivers more concentrated sweetness per unit, making it useful when manufacturers need significant sweetening power without adding bulk to a product. This makes it practical for beverages, sauces, and products where extra volume would be a problem. Apple puree provides milder sweetness but brings other functional benefits like moisture retention and binding properties. In baked goods and snack bars, puree can replace not just sugar but also some of the fat or eggs in recipes while keeping products moist and helping ingredients hold together.
Despite the labeling considerations around added sugars, apple juice concentrate and puree still offer advantages over HFCS and refined sugars for manufacturers. They provide recognizable ingredients that consumers view more favorably, and in some cases they bring functional benefits beyond just sweetness. Different product categories take advantage of these ingredients in distinct ways depending on whether they need concentrated sweetness, moisture retention, or whole-fruit content.
FruitSmart offers both apple juice concentrate and apple puree produced from high-quality fruit sources with processing methods designed to preserve natural flavor and functional properties. Our apple concentrate provides the intense sweetness manufacturers need for reformulating products away from HFCS, while our apple puree delivers whole-fruit benefits for applications requiring moisture, binding, or “no added sugar” positioning. These ingredients provide consistent performance in production, whether manufacturers are developing new products or reformulating existing ones.
Replacing refined sugars with fruit-based alternatives involves more than just swapping ingredients. FruitSmart works with manufacturers to develop formulations that balance sweetness, functionality, and labeling requirements for specific applications. Our team understands both the technical challenges of reformulation and the regulatory considerations around added sugar labeling, helping you navigate the transition from HFCS to fruit-based sweeteners. Contact FruitSmart today to explore how our apple ingredients can support your product development goals while meeting consumer expectations for more recognizable ingredients.
