Dutch foodtech startup Fooditive is in advanced discussions with a major ingredients supplier to commercialize its novel bulk sweetener 5-keto-D-fructose (5-KDF or “ketose”) in the US, as it awaits a response from the FDA to its GRAS notification.
While new high-intensity sweeteners such as brazzein are gaining traction, lower-calorie sugar alternatives that can replicate sugar’s bulk and functionality as well as sweetness are much harder to come by, making any new addition to the toolbox potentially exciting—if the economics stack up and labeling is sufficiently consumer-friendly.
Rotterdam-based Fooditive—which has spent eight years developing 5-KDF as a lower-calorie alternative to sucrose—says production has been tested for almost three months in a 75-cubic-meter fermentation system.
Fooditive is pursuing a licensing model whereby established ingredients companies will take responsibility for manufacturing and commercializing the sweetener, with Fooditive providing the technology and ongoing technical support, founder and CEO Moayad Abushokhedim told AgFunderNews.
“We are in advanced conversation with a large ingredients supplier already active in the sweeteners market that has the capability to produce the sweetener for us. It’s a licensing/joint development kind of partnership where they manage production and market entry and we manage continuous improvement.”
Rather than granting one partner exclusive rights to 5-KDF across the board, Fooditive plans to pursue multiple licensing deals covering different applications, potentially involving two or three manufacturing partners in the US.
The approach reflects a deliberate decision to avoid building its own manufacturing infrastructure, said Abushokhedim, who argues that established ingredients suppliers already have the production expertise, customer relationships and distribution networks needed to bring a novel sweetener to market.
“We really focus on companies that have sweeteners in the market, and for them to use their market powers and their client base and approach this as a collaboration instead of a competition.”
5-KDF: A rare sugar with bulk and functionality
5-KDF is a naturally occurring rare sugar found in trace amounts in foods and beverages including wine, vinegar, and honey.
According to the firm’s GRAS notice, Fooditive produces 5-KDF through enzymatic bioconversion of fructose using a non-GMO strain of Gluconobacter oxydans bacteria isolated from beer. The bacteria function solely as processing aids and are removed during downstream purification to non-detectable levels. The final product is in the form of a white to off-white crystalline powder or a clear to pale-yellow syrup.
The fructose could potentially be sourced from side-streams from fruit processing facilities handling apples, pears, or other fruits, said Abushokhedim.
A water-soluble monosaccharide (simple sugar), 5-KDF works well in a wide range of products from baked goods, frozen desserts, and confectionery to non-alcoholic beverages, he said. “It browns in baking just like sugar, and it is stable in acidic beverages.”
And like other rare sugars such as allulose and tagatose, it offers the prospect of replacing most of the sweetness and bulk of conventional sugar with significantly fewer calories.
According to Fooditive, 5-KDF has 1.4 calories per gram (vs 4 cals/g for sugar), and does not come with digestive issues associated with some other bulk sweeteners such as polyols. It is 70% as sweet as sugar, although perceived sweetness shifts with concentration, temperature and recipe in finished foods and beverages and can be higher than 70%.
But the bigger opportunity, he argued, lies in its ability to enable sugar reduction in product categories where reformulation remains challenging. “Manufacturers tell us that the main struggle is actually replacing the functionalities, not just the sweetness.”
Fooditive has attracted strategic investment from bakery ingredients specialist Puratos, which Abushokhedim said recognized the technology’s potential in baked goods after testing the sweetener.
He also sees opportunities for 5-KDF to be used in combination with existing sweeteners, enabling suppliers to develop customized systems with particular sweetness profiles and functional characteristics.
Scaling production using upcycled fruit waste
Fooditive initially developed its process using apple and pear pomace, a byproduct of fruit processing, as a source of fructose that its bacteria convert into 5-KDF.
According to Abushokhedim, the process does not require extensive preprocessing of the fruit side streams to get to the fructose. “The great thing about apple pomace is that it has already been cleaned and sterilized because it’s used in juices.”
The company has now demonstrated production in a 75-cubic-meter system over almost three months at a contract manufacturer in Italy using side streams from apples and pears as a substrate, he explained.
“This really was to show we can deliver on quality control, especially when it comes to using unstable sources of side-streams.”
The results give Fooditive confidence that the process could be scaled to 200 cubic meters, said Abushokhedim, who said price, labeling and functionality are customers’ primary considerations.
“We expect 5-KDF to be competitive with other low-calorie bulk sweeteners once it is cleared and produced at scale.”
FDA GRAS decision pending, added sugars labeling TBD
Fooditive secured a self-affirmed GRAS determination for 5-KDF in 2024 and submitted its GRAS notice to the FDA in January 2026, said Abushokhedim, who has spent eight years compiling the scientific and safety data needed to support commercialization.
However, further work will be needed to establish whether 5-KDF will qualify for favorable treatment under US added sugars labeling rules.
This could prove commercially significant. Although the FDA has allowed allulose and, more recently, tagatose to be excluded from added sugars declarations under specified conditions, Fooditive has yet to establish whether 5-KDF will receive comparable treatment.
Abushokhedim acknowledged that this is an important consideration for food manufacturers seeking to make no-added-sugars claims and that firms making allulose (0.4 cals/g) and tagatose (1.5cals/g) were able to persuade the FDA not to treat them like table sugar due to their tooth-friendly and low-glycemic credentials.
“It is extremely important from a labeling point of view as a lot of companies don’t want grams of sugars on the Nutrition Facts panel or want to have no added sugar claims. These are separate questions, and they follow different rules. Our GRAS notice is still under FDA review, and commercial use of 5-KDF in the US will follow FDA’s response. We would rather not speculate on labelling ahead of that.”
The company is also exploring the consumer-facing name Ketose, although final labeling decisions have yet to be made.
US expansion and commercial trials
Fooditive is now looking to establish a stronger presence in upstate New York, where the availability of apple-processing side streams could support its fermentation technology.
Selected as one of 20 finalists in the 2026 Grow-NY competition, the company is exploring plans to establish a US business in the Rochester region, complementing its headquarters in Rotterdam and enabling it to work more closely with Cornell University.
“One of the reasons we decided to expand to upstate New York was specifically because of the availability of apple pomace as it has crazy amounts and companies are really trying to find solutions for it,” said Abushokhedim. “We don’t need to pre-process it at all. We just put the bacteria in there and it does the bioconversion by itself.”
Abushokhedim hopes to see three or four application trials in the market over the coming year, generating feedback on the performance of 5-KDF in commercial formulations.
Alongside 5-KDF, Fooditive is developing animal-free casein proteins through precision fermentation using genetically engineered E. coli and has a multi-year off-take agreement with a global consumer goods company, claims Abushokhedim.
Unlike some players focused on producing individual casein proteins, Fooditive is seeking to recreate the functionality of the full casein system, including the formation of micelles, which he claimed are key to their functionality.
Further reading:
Beyond stevia: 2nd Nature mines ag side streams for next-gen sweeteners with AI
