Fooditive completes sweetener development milestone with public safety data
ROTTERDAM, The Netherlands — Feb. 18, 2026 — In 2018, food scientist Moayad Abushokhedim moved to Rotterdam with one idea he could not let go of: healthy food should not cost more than unhealthy food.
He looked at the sweetener market and saw ingredients that were either too expensive, too artificial, or both. He believed there was a better way.
His approach was microbial fermentation: a proprietary, non-GMO strain of Gluconobacter oxydans converts a fructose substrate into a functional sweetener, which is then purified.
Not another premium niche product, but a technology built to reach competitive pricing. A sweetener that does not just taste like sugar but performs like it in real formulations: browning, bulk, texture, baking stability.
Eight years later, that work is done.
The milestone
Today, Fooditive publishes the complete safety file for its Keto-Fructose sweetener (5-keto-D-fructose, 5-KDF): five OECD-aligned studies evaluating genotoxic and cytotoxic effects using human-relevant test methods. The results: no intrinsic genotoxic or cytotoxic effects were observed under the stated test conditions, utilizing appropriate controls and purified material.
The sweetener is self-affirmed GRAS (Generally Recognized as Safe) in the United States, based on an independent expert panel in 2024. GRAS notice GRN 1326 was submitted to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on 29 January 2026.
Why now
Regulatory frameworks are tightening. The FDA is developing reforms to the GRAS system that could require mandatory submissions for all food ingredients and continues to raise requirements for novel foods. Consumers are asking harder questions about what is in their food and how safety was determined.
“The era of ‘trust us’ in food safety is ending,” said Abushokhedim. “What comes next is ‘show us.’ We are not waiting for that shift. We are already there.”
Why it took eight years
Fooditive chose a disciplined path. Not because it could not raise more capital, but because Abushokhedim understood where that money ends up: in the price per kilogram. The more a company spends on development, the more it needs to charge to earn it back.
“If the goal is a sweetener that manufacturers can actually afford to use at scale, you cannot start by burning through a hundred million in R&D,” he said. “That cost does not disappear. It gets baked into the product. We kept spending disciplined from day one because the end price was always the point.”
What comes next
Fooditive is now working with partners and inviting food and beverage manufacturers to test 5-KDF across their applications, from baked goods and dairy to beverages and confectionery.
“It needs to work in real formulations and it needs to be priced so manufacturers will actually switch,” said Abushokhedim. “That is what we built. And today, we are putting every page of the science on the table for the world to judge.”
Eight years. No shortcuts. Every page public.
Access the full safety file
Fooditive invites regulators, scientists, manufacturers, and journalists to review the complete sweetener safety file: view the full 5-KDF safety file.
We don’t market trust. We publish it.
Editor’s notes
Moayad Abushokhedim, Founder and CEO of Fooditive, is available for interviews. High-resolution images, founder biography, and a detailed timeline of Fooditive’s development from 2018 to 2026 are available upon request.
Media contact: PR Team, Fooditive Group, pr@fooditivegroup.com
