Although manmade sugar is the winner in the sweetness competition, studies found that they have significant negative influences on our health. Out of the concern for our health and consumers’ preference for natural sugar, stevia-based sweetening agents keep a continued double-digit growth in sales from 2011 onwards. Too much sugar intake would lead to insulin resistance and convert to fat, cholesterol, and triglycerides in our body. Therefore, it’s time for us to turn to pay attention to the multi-function of sugar instead of sweetness alone. And trehalose, a food additive beyond sweetness, stands out. It can retain moisture and protect the protein from getting damaged, maintains freshness, stops discoloration, prevents moisture absorption and maintains the shape and taste of frozen food, and even regulates the body's production and potency of insulin. Kazuhiko Maruta, working for Hayashibara, a family-owned company in Japan, invented a new manufacturing process, using natural enzymes to produce large amounts of trehalose from starch, cutting the cost by 100 times. It not only provides a new perspective for future storage but also is expected to reduce our overdependence on resources, which makes it an ideal innovation for Blue Economy.
尽管人造糖在甜度竞赛中是优胜者，但研究发现它们对我们的健康有显著的负面影响。出于对健康的关注和消费者对天然糖的偏好，基于甜菊糖的甜味剂从2011年开始销售持续以两位数的增长率增长。摄入过多的糖会导致胰岛素抵抗，转化为脂肪、胆固醇和甘油三酯在我们的身体中存储。因此，现在是我们转向关注糖的多功能而不仅仅是甜味的时候了。而海藻糖（trehalose）作为一种超越甜味的食品添加剂，脱颖而出。它能够保持水分和保护蛋白质免受损坏，保持新鲜度，防止变色，防止吸湿，并保持冷冻食品的形状和口感，甚至调节身体对胰岛素的生成和效力。在日本的家族企业早涩部（Hayashibara）工作的丸田和彦（Kazuhiko Maruta）发明了一种新的制造工艺，使用天然酶从淀粉中大量生产海藻糖，成本降低了100倍。这不仅为未来的储存提供了新的视角，还有望减少我们对资源过度依赖，使其成为蓝色经济的理想创新。
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