FAQ: Nutritional Information

What has changed in relation to the nutritional properties of fiber?

The answer to this one is quite involved - settle in and make yourself comfortable!

There is a new way of looking at the nutritional properties of a specific type of soluble fiber from tapioca, (which is known as isomalto-oligosaccharides) and is one of the ingredients in our candies. Isomalto-oligosaccharides are naturally found in honey, miso, sake, and soy sauce.

The new U.S perspective (from the FDA) is that this specific type of soluble tapioca fiber (which is known as isomalto-oligosaccharides or IMOs) do not have all of the fiber attributes needed required to be called a fiber. That is why the U.S. regulator is now saying that IMOs need to be classified as a non digestible carb on labels. 

A non-digestible carb simply means that digestive enzymes in our tummies do not react to the carb and turn into simple sugars, rather it passes through the body unprocessed - much like fiber does. 

Canadian regulators have a different view than the FDA. From the Canadian perspective the fiber like qualities of IMOs mean that it should be labeled as part fiber and part non-digestible carb. 

We didn’t let that stop us - it just gave us yet another reason to keep on innovating, especially as the feedback from our community was that there was too much fiber in our candies.

We took these new perspectives on IMOs and tapioca fiber into account as we tested 100’s of new recipes in our Candyland kitchen.  We opted to use a different type of soluble tapioca fiber that is fully classified as a fiber along with IMOs as kick-ass ways to replace ingredients like corn syrup and offer a radically better choice to traditional candy. 

Gold star if you are still with us after that explanation!! It’s certainly complicated but we want to share the facts with you so that you understand the evolving view on fiber and know that we are on the ball! As views have changed, so have our recipes and our labels. While the classification of ingredients is the job of the food regulators, researching and understanding evolving ingredients and ways to replace sugar is our jam!

-----

Is the Soluble Tapioca Fiber I see on the label today from IMO or a different type of soluble fiber that has all the properties of fiber?

For a short period, SmartSweets with both types of soluble tapioca fiber (IMO and non-IMO) will be available as we transition exclusively to our new recipe. If you see IMO spelt out on the label in full as isomalto-oligosaccharides, that’s a clue you have one of our evolved recipes in your hands. You can also look for "Kick Sugar Keep Candy" on the top left of the pouch! 

-----

What is a non-digestible carb and how does it differ from fiber?

A non-digestible carb is a carbohydrate that doesn’t react with the digestive enzymes in our tummies and passes through the body without being converted to simple sugar. In this respect it is very similar to fiber but lacks some of the additional health benefits that fiber offers.

-----

Why do you have different recipes for your candy in Canada and the U.S?

We are committed to using cutting edge ingredients in our recipes. In the U.S we are innovating using a sweetener called allulose that isn’t available for use in recipes in Canada - yet. This isn’t unusual - Canada typically takes longer than the U.S. to approve new ingredient innovations, but we expect it will catch up!

-----

Will SmartSweets spike my blood sugar?

Your blood sugar should increase to the expected amount for the net carbs on our nutrition label.

-----

Are SmartSweets keto friendly?

While we don't innovate for any specific diet, we know & love that the keto community is part of the mission to #KickSugar and have been extremely mindful of feedback. Our new recipe has the best overall impact on the body and is a radically better choice to traditional candy. We worked our hardest to get the net carbs as low as humanly possible while using quality ingredients, up to 92% less sugar than traditional candy, no sugar alcohols, not sneakily messing with package size and ensuring our candy is tummy friendly. We can't wait to hear how SmartSweets works for you!

-----

How do you analyze the nutritional impact of SmartSweets?

We are obsessed with kicking sugar and want to go the extra mile to ensure that every last molecule of sugar is accounted for in our nutritional labeling. We discovered that the approved testing method in the US and Canada (AOAC method) actually misses a sugar molecule- Isomaltose. So, we created our own customized test to be sure we catch it all - the sugars measured by the government approved method AND Isomaltose - going above and beyond what is required by the FDA and CFIA.

-----

What is allulose?

Allulose is a new innovative low-glycemic index sweetener that tastes like sugar but doesn’t act like sugar in the body. Since allulose isn't absorbed by the body, you subtract it, along with fiber, to find the net carbs per bag. Allulose is only in our U.S recipe (for now!)

-----

How is allulose made?

Our manufacturer creates allulose by breaking down the carbohydrate in corn through a series of proprietary enzymatic processes. The end result is an ingredient that tastes like sugar but is a radically better alternative.

-----

How many calories does allulose have?

There are approximately 0.4 calories per gram of allulose. Compare this to regular sugar at 4 calories a gram! 90% less calories with allulose but all the sweet taste!

-----

How is allulose classified on your nutritional label?

It is not included as a sugar but rather is classified as a non digestible carbohydrate. It passes through the body and doesn’t interact with digestive enzymes, nor convert to simple sugar in the body.

-----

What is monk fruit?

We are constantly researching ingredients to find the very best for our #KickSugar candy, and we are super proud to include monk fruit in most of our innovations! Monk fruit is a low glycemic natural sweetener that adds a nice pop of sweetness.

-----

What type of fiber are you using?

As a result of a flurry of innovation we currently have a few different formulations on shelf. The type of fiber varies depending on the recipe and is shown in our ingredient list. We have evolved the type of fiber we use to align with the latest thinking on what constitutes a fiber. We have transitioned over to using a new type of soluble tapioca fiber and allulose in the U.S.

-----

Do SmartSweets contain IMO? Why?

Yes we use some IMO, also known as isomalto-oligosaccharides or soluble tapioca fiber from IMO. IMO is a kick ass replacement for the corn syrup that is found in traditional candy and plays an important role in our candy to allow us to kick as many grams of sugar as possible while not causing stomach upset. IMO used to be thought of as a fiber but is now viewed as a non digestible carb. A non-digestible carb simply means that digestive enzymes in our tummies do not react to the carb and turn into simple sugars but rather it passes through the body unprocessed - much like fiber does.

What has changed in relation to the nutritional properties of fiber?

The answer to this one is quite involved - settle in and make yourself comfortable!

There is a new way of looking at the nutritional properties of a specific type of soluble fiber from tapioca, (which is known as isomalto-oligosaccharides) and is one of the ingredients in our candies. Isomalto-oligosaccharides are naturally found in honey, miso, sake, and soy sauce.

The new U.S perspective (from the FDA) is that this specific type of soluble tapioca fiber (which is known as isomalto-oligosaccharides or IMOs) do not have all of the fiber attributes needed required to be called a fiber. That is why the U.S. regulator is now saying that IMOs need to be classified as a non digestible carb on labels. 

A non-digestible carb simply means that digestive enzymes in our tummies do not react to the carb and turn into simple sugars, rather it passes through the body unprocessed - much like fiber does. 

Canadian regulators have a different view than the FDA. From the Canadian perspective the fiber like qualities of IMOs mean that it should be labeled as part fiber and part non-digestible carb. 

We didn’t let that stop us - it just gave us yet another reason to keep on innovating, especially as the feedback from our community was that there was too much fiber in our candies.

We took these new perspectives on IMOs and tapioca fiber into account as we tested 100’s of new recipes in our Candyland kitchen.  We opted to use a different type of soluble tapioca fiber that is fully classified as a fiber along with IMOs as kick-ass ways to replace ingredients like corn syrup and offer a radically better choice to traditional candy. 

Gold star if you are still with us after that explanation!! It’s certainly complicated but we want to share the facts with you so that you understand the evolving view on fiber and know that we are on the ball! As views have changed, so have our recipes and our labels. While the classification of ingredients is the job of the food regulators, researching and understanding evolving ingredients and ways to replace sugar is our jam!

-----

Is the Soluble Tapioca Fiber I see on the label today from IMO or a different type of soluble fiber that has all the properties of fiber?

For a short period, SmartSweets with both types of soluble tapioca fiber (IMO and non-IMO) will be available as we transition exclusively to our new recipe. If you see IMO spelt out on the label in full as isomalto-oligosaccharides, that’s a clue you have one of our evolved recipes in your hands. You can also look for "Kick Sugar Keep Candy" on the top left of the pouch! 

-----

What is a non-digestible carb and how does it differ from fiber?

A non-digestible carb is a carbohydrate that doesn’t react with the digestive enzymes in our tummies and passes through the body without being converted to simple sugar. In this respect it is very similar to fiber but lacks some of the additional health benefits that fiber offers.

-----

Why do you have different recipes for your candy in Canada and the U.S?

We are committed to using cutting edge ingredients in our recipes. In the U.S we are innovating using a sweetener called allulose that isn’t available for use in recipes in Canada - yet. This isn’t unusual - Canada typically takes longer than the U.S. to approve new ingredient innovations, but we expect it will catch up!

-----

Will SmartSweets spike my blood sugar?

Your blood sugar should increase to the expected amount for the net carbs on our nutrition label.

-----

Are SmartSweets keto friendly?

While we don't innovate for any specific diet, we know & love that the keto community is part of the mission to #KickSugar and have been extremely mindful of feedback. Our new recipe has the best overall impact on the body and is a radically better choice to traditional candy. We worked our hardest to get the net carbs as low as humanly possible while using quality ingredients, up to 92% less sugar than traditional candy, no sugar alcohols, not sneakily messing with package size and ensuring our candy is tummy friendly. We can't wait to hear how SmartSweets works for you!

-----

How do you analyze the nutritional impact of SmartSweets?

We are obsessed with kicking sugar and want to go the extra mile to ensure that every last molecule of sugar is accounted for in our nutritional labeling. We discovered that the approved testing method in the US and Canada (AOAC method) actually misses a sugar molecule- Isomaltose. So, we created our own customized test to be sure we catch it all - the sugars measured by the government approved method AND Isomaltose - going above and beyond what is required by the FDA and CFIA.

-----

What is allulose?

Allulose is a new innovative low-glycemic index sweetener that tastes like sugar but doesn’t act like sugar in the body. Since allulose isn't absorbed by the body, you subtract it, along with fiber, to find the net carbs per bag. Allulose is only in our U.S recipe (for now!)

-----

How is allulose made?

Our manufacturer creates allulose by breaking down the carbohydrate in corn through a series of proprietary enzymatic processes. The end result is an ingredient that tastes like sugar but is a radically better alternative.

-----

How many calories does allulose have?

There are approximately 0.4 calories per gram of allulose. Compare this to regular sugar at 4 calories a gram! 90% less calories with allulose but all the sweet taste!

-----

How is allulose classified on your nutritional label?

It is not included as a sugar but rather is classified as a non digestible carbohydrate. It passes through the body and doesn’t interact with digestive enzymes, nor convert to simple sugar in the body.

-----

What is monk fruit?

We are constantly researching ingredients to find the very best for our #KickSugar candy, and we are super proud to include monk fruit in most of our innovations! Monk fruit is a low glycemic natural sweetener that adds a nice pop of sweetness.

-----

What type of fiber are you using?

As a result of a flurry of innovation we currently have a few different formulations on shelf. The type of fiber varies depending on the recipe and is shown in our ingredient list. We have evolved the type of fiber we use to align with the latest thinking on what constitutes a fiber. We have transitioned over to using a new type of soluble tapioca fiber and allulose in the U.S.

-----

Do SmartSweets contain IMO? Why?

Yes we use some IMO, also known as isomalto-oligosaccharides or soluble tapioca fiber from IMO. IMO is a kick ass replacement for the corn syrup that is found in traditional candy and plays an important role in our candy to allow us to kick as many grams of sugar as possible while not causing stomach upset. IMO used to be thought of as a fiber but is now viewed as a non digestible carb. A non-digestible carb simply means that digestive enzymes in our tummies do not react to the carb and turn into simple sugars but rather it passes through the body unprocessed - much like fiber does.