Question 1

Seller what is the source for this allulose?  i would like to know if the molecular structure is corn free?

Accepted Answer

Allulose is the natural sugar D-psicose.  D-psicose makes up about 3% of the sugar in monk fruit and raisins.  It is present in higher concentrations in Worchester sauce (not because it is added to the sauce).  Allulose is produced via a three-step process from corn starch.  Step 1 is to hydrolyze the starch to glucose.  Corn starch is a natural polymer of nearly 100% glucose.  The glucose is converted to fructose using a recombinant enzyme.  This is the process that is used to make high fructose corn syrup.  The second step, also using a recombinant enzyme, is to convert the fructose to D-psicose. Corn is the choice for both fructose (HFCS) and allulose production primarily because the USDA so heavily subsidizes corn in the US. The USDA does this with taxpayer money to keep HFCS,  which is a US product, as cheap as Brazilian cane sugar.  You can make allulose from any source of sugar.

If you are an anti-GMO person, 1) nearly 100% of the world's corn is recombinant, 2) the two enzymes used in this process are manufactured transgenically in yeast, 3) the chances of any non-sugar molecules getting into the product are so low that no assay could detect them above background levels in the environment.

If you have corn alergies, the chances of an alergan making it from the original harvested corn through the entire process is probably so low that I would be more worried about drinking bottled water, or what else is in the dust within the re-packager's plant.  Allulose is produced in bulk and sent to re-packagers, like this vendor, by the truckload for packaging in consumer quantities.

I would be the most worried about product adulteration.  Allulose is about 10-fold more expensive than refined cane sugar.  Most allulose is produced in China, which is not known for strict adherence to food quality regulations.  If the repackaged is in the US or EU, you can be pretty sure that they are testing the source materials.  If they are Chinese, Indian, or Southeast Asian, I would have more concerns.  Remember the melamine in milk and pet food incidents?

If you want to protest US farm subsidies by not purchasing corn-based products, good on you, but you are up against some very powerful lobbies.  In the US we taxpayers pay for our sugar multiple times.  1)  We pay direct and indirect farm subsidies to both Florida sugar growers and corn farmers.  2)  We pay Brazil millions of dollars every year because we maintain tariffs against Brazilian sugar to keep US sugar producers in business, contrary to our WTO obligations.  It's hard to compete with unlimited sun and water in the Amazon basin for sugar cane production.  3)  We subsidize sugar prices at the refinery level because people really like sugar and it gets politicians votes.  4)  We pay the medical costs of all the diabetics (20% of the US population) and obesity-related illnesses that all that cheap sugar produces.  Allulose is still not approved in Australia or the EU.  In Australia, the government is protecting their cane sugar industry in North Australia.  In the EU their governments are protecting their native sugar beet industry.  No politician is immune to campaign contributions from lobbyists.  It's how Western governments work.

I am a Princeton-trained PhD Biological Engineer.  I am also a diabetic that uses allulose regularly.  I spent 30 years in the pharmaceutical, diagnostics, biotech, and food R&D. I've done recombinant DNA work with my own hands.  I've also worked on cheaper alternative processes for allulose production, so I do actually know something about this.  My hobby is economics.

Question 2

Does it have a cooling effect in your mouth like Erythritol?

Accepted Answer

No! I am very sensitive to the cooling effect/after taste of most sugar substitutes and this is the ONLY one I have found that doesn't have an aftertaste.

Question 3

Source information? it it made from non-gmo source?

Accepted Answer

Allulose is produced by enzymatic conversion of fructose to allulose.  Fructose is typically isolated from high fructose corn syrup, which is also produced enzymatically.  Virtually all corn IS GMO.  The enzyme used for the conversion may or may not be recombinantly produced.

Question 4

how much do you use to equal a cup of sugar?

Accepted Answer

According to numerous web sites it is 70% as sweet as sucrose with only 5% of the calories. My experience as a diabetic is that in a typical sweet application (such as 3/4cup spread across a 1 qt. batch of vanilla custard making 6 servings) its blood sugar impact at 10 minute intervals was negligible.

It browns and carmelizes. It works like sugar in frozen desserts. I can even brown it to make creme bruleé out that vanilla custard (although it seems it might be a bit more hygroscopic than sucrose -- it makes a stiff caramel, not quite the crisp surface sucrose makes).

I find I use this and "Just Like Sugar" more than Xylitol or Erythritol these days. Although I still have all of these in my diabetic dessert pantry.

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Allulose Natural Sweetener, Sugar Substitute, Non-GMO Crystalline Allulose, 15 lb stand-up pouchs

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