The on-trend sweetener is 70 percent as sweet as sugar and helps manufacturers reduce sucrose in their recipes and develop reduced-calorie food and beverages to meet growing consumer demand, the companies say.

Beverage ingredient suppliers announced leadership appointments and expanded capabilities to determine consumer preferences based on sweetener type, calories and protein count.

Just as spectators will ask how low can you go when participants are facing off in a limbo challenge, consumers are asking the same of food and beverage manufacturers. However, these requests have spread beyond traditional low-calorie refreshment to also include sports nutrition formulations.

The Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) saw more than 23,000 attendees from 90 countries come together at IFT18: A Matter of Science + Food.

More than one in three U.S. consumers are following a specific diet or eating pattern, and they are increasingly averse to carbohydrates and sugar, according to the 13th Annual Food and Health Survey, released in May by the International Food Information Council (IFIC) Foundation, Washington, D.C.

When it comes to consumer penetration, carbonated soft drinks (CSDs) still are a behemoth within the U.S. beverage market.

Icon Foods unveiled a new, all-natural sweetener line with KetoseSweet, KetoseSweet+, KetoseSweet+ with stevia and KetoseSweet+ with monk fruit. Naturally occurring in wheat, figs, raisins, jackfruit and more, allulose is a key ingredient in the KetoseSweet portfolio.

As part of their efforts to live healthier lifestyles, reducing the amount of sugar also is top of mind for many consumers.

The tax, which went into effect in Cook County on Aug. 1, was repealed Oct. 11 when the commissioners voted 15-2 to undo the tax.