Everything old is new again, or at least that’s what it’s sounding like for food processors wanting to formulate with natural sweeteners. …
Of course, regular white sugar – refined from sugar beets or sugar cane – also is a natural sweetener. It has a reputation as being bad for health and has virtually no nutrients, but its familiarity with consumers is unbeaten and it has distinct functional benefits.
“Sugar is a versatile and irreplaceable functional ingredient in food,” says Courtney Gaine, president and CEO of the Sugar Assn. “It’s the gold standard for taste and is a familiar ingredient that has been used for generations—often for reasons that have little to do with its sweet flavor. These functional properties range from balancing acidity, browning or adding bulk to preventing spoilage through its moisture retention properties.”
March 22, 2026
"The Feeding the Economy report affirms the vital role food and agriculture play in our nation’s economic resilience and food security. Commercial bakers have long been proud partners to American agriculture, sourcing 85 percent of their core ingredients from domestic farmers....Sponsoring organizations from the food and agriculture industries, who helped make the 2026 study possible, provided commentary on this year’s findings. The full list of sponsoring organizations includes: ...The Sugar Association"
March 10, 2026
"Courtney Gaine, president and CEO of the Sugar Association, a scientific body that supports the U.S. sugar industry, told the USDA Outlook Forum that the school meal standards taking effect next year might prohibit added sugars in kindergarten meals and could significantly restrict them in other grades. That change alone would cut sugar demand by over 130,000 short tons. The industry faces additional pressure from rising GLP-1 weight-loss drug usage, which jumped from 12% in May 2024 to 18% in November 2025, though Gaine cautioned it remains "premature to assess the impact."
March 3, 2026
"Gaine added, "There is no data to support all this." She said the focus on added sugar is often politically motivated, but food groups have not pushed back on the MAHA pressure. There is a lot of fear of retaliation, and for good reason they have not wanted to push back publicly," Gaine said. "I think it’s going to demand a coordinated, really coordinated, pushing back. Any effort up (until) now has been to go along to get along, and I don’t know if that’s going to work."
© 2026 The Sugar Association, Inc. All rights reserved.
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