Legislation and types of syrup
According to the current legislature, glucose syrup is a purified and concentrated aqueous solution of dietary carbohydrates, obtained from starch and / or inulin, which must meet the following characteristics:
a) dry matter not less than 70% by weight
b) dextrose equivalent not less than 20% by weight on dry matter, expressed as D-glucose
c) sulphated ash not exceeding 1% by weight on the dry matter.
The dextrose equivalent (better known as dextrose equivalence) is an estimate of the percentage of reducing sugars present in the glucose syrup.
The definition of glucose syrup is quite broad, so that this name is attributable to products with slightly different characteristics. As anticipated, these syrups are obtained from various types of starch (generally from that of corn) through an enzymatic conversion process; In fact, starch is a polysaccharide made up of many glucose units linked together in a linear and branched manner. Enzymes capable of dissolving these bonds are then added industrially, giving rise to much shorter glucose chains (maltose, dextrins) and single sugar units. Among these enzymes we remember alpha amylase, which allows to obtain syrups with a content of about 10-20% of free glucose, and gluco-amylase, which increases this percentage to over 90%. Alpha-amylase is industrially produced using a bacterial species (Bacillus sp.), while a fungal species is used for gluco-amylase: l "Aspergillus.
As reported in the table, on the basis of the dextrose equivalence, the glucose syrup can assume characteristics suitable for particular food uses.
Use in the food industry
Glucose syrup comes in the form of a thick, colorless, sweet-tasting syrup. Although it is less sweet than sugar (in soft drinks it is preferred to exploit the greater sweetening power and the greater solubility of fructose syrup), it has a whole series of technological advantages. The glucose syrup is in fact able to prevent the crystallization of lactose, lower the freezing point and give body to the finished product. As such, it is indicated in numerous applications in the ice cream field, to control the degree of sweetness and the freezing point, and in the confectionery / pastry (croissants, biscuits, panettone, colombe etc.), where the creaminess of the product increases while maintaining a low degree of sweetness or lowering its sweetening power (for example due to the presence of large quantities of too sugary fruit). Glucose syrup is also valued for its preservative properties.
Nutritional Properties
From a nutritional point of view, glucose syrup is a typical example of a food rich in "empty calories", a term used to indicate its high energy power as opposed to the "absence of vitamins, proteins, fats and fiber, with a very low content of mineral salts Depending on the dextrose equivalence, glucose syrup can exhibit a more or less high glycemic index (GI) (if the DE is high, the GI is also high, and vice versa). It is not by chance, therefore, that the extensive use of glucose-fructose syrups in the food sector is pointed out as an important factor in the spread of obesity.
Even when obtained starting from wheat starch, glucose syrup does not create major problems for the celiac, because it is purified from the protein component, therefore substantially gluten-free.
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