Keto-Fructose Sweetener · Licensing now
Sugar’s taste. Less of the sugar.
A rare sugar with about 70% of the sweetness of sucrose and about 60% fewer calories than sugar.
What is 5-KDF?
Fooditive Sweetener® Keto-Fructose (5-keto-D-fructose, 5-KDF) is a rare keto-sugar that occurs in nature. It replaces the sweetness and bulk of sugar in reduced-sugar foods, with about 60% fewer calories than sugar. Food manufacturers license the technology and produce it in their own plants, or Fooditive manages production at a CDMO near them.
It is a single molecule. It gives bulk and texture like sucrose, browns less than sucrose and has 1.5 kcal/g.
How it is made5-KDF by the numbers
- ~70% of the sweetness of sucrose
- 1.5 kcal/g about 60% fewer calories than sugar
- ≥ 98.5% purity, powder grade
- pH 3–9 stable in solution
Applications
What 5-KDF does in your product
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One ingredient, the work of sugar
5-KDF replaces the sweetness and the bulk of sugar, with about 60% fewer calories. See what it does in each application.
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Bakery
Replaces the bulk of sugar, so cakes and cookies keep their volume and crumb. It browns less, for exact colour control.
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Ice cream and frozen desserts
Lowers the freezing point, for a smooth and scoopable texture with less sugar.
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Beverages
Dissolves fast, at about 200 g/L, and stays stable from pH 3 to 9, even in acidic drinks.
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Confectionery and chocolate
Takes up less moisture than fructose, so sweets stay less sticky and keep their shelf life.
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Yogurt and dairy
About 70% of the sweetness of sucrose, with a clean taste that stays stable in acidic dairy.
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Tabletop and blends
A sugar-like taste with no bitter, metallic or liquorice notes. It also masks off-flavours in stevia blends.
The process
How is 5-KDF made?
We use a proprietary, non-GMO strain of Gluconobacter oxydans, an organism with an 80-year history of safely making food ingredients like vinegar.
The strain ferments a fructose substrate into 5-KDF. We then purify it to a powder of at least 98.5% purity. The strain, the process and the protocols are part of the licence.
Spec sheet
Technical data, powder grade
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| Chemical name | 5-keto-D-fructose |
| CAS number | 1684-29-3 |
| Molecular formula | C₆H₁₀O₆ |
| Molecular weight | 178.14 g/mol |
| Purity | ≥ 98.5% |
| Moisture | ≤ 1.0% |
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| pH (10% solution) | 4.5 – 6.5 |
| pH stability | pH 3–9 |
| Sweetness | ~70% of sucrose by weight |
| Energy | 1.5 kcal/gAbout 60% fewer calories than sugar |
| Solubility | ~200 g/L at 25 °C |
| Shelf life | ≥ 24 monthsAmbient, low humidity; each licensee confirms at its production site |
Use levels per food category, nutrition values and the full specification are in our technical data sheet. We share it on request with food companies and partners.
Good to know
What is the U.S. regulatory status of 5-KDF?
Self-affirmed GRAS (2024, independent expert panel). GRAS notice GRN 1326 submitted to FDA on 29 January 2026.
Does it count as added sugar?
Not classified as Added Sugars under most regulatory definitions; final labelling is subject to jurisdiction-specific guidance.
Can I use it in the EU?
Novel Food authorisation is required. Our submission is paused while we focus on the U.S.
How do I test it?
Request a sample. We guide you through the sample size, the evaluation format and the next steps, from first screening to pilot support.
Which safety studies exist?
Five open-access studies: OECD-aligned genotoxicity tests, human intestinal and liver cell models, and material analysis.
Make 5-KDF near your market.
You test it in your products, we transfer the process package, and you produce under licence near your market.