Dutch startup Fooditive in talks to commercialize low-calorie rare sugar 5-KDF in the US
Rotterdam-based food tech startup Fooditive is in advanced talks with a major ingredients supplier to commercialize its new sweetener 5-KDF in the US. It is awaiting a response from the US Food and Drug Administration to its safety notification.
Fooditive, a food technology startup based in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, is working to bring a novel rare sugar, 5-keto-D-fructose (5-KDF, possibly marketed as Ketose), to the US market. The company is in advanced discussions with a large ingredients supplier already active in sweeteners, while it waits for the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to respond to its GRAS notice, a filing that documents a food ingredient's safety. This matters because few low-calorie sugar alternatives can replicate sugar's bulk and functionality, not just its sweetness.
Licensing model
Fooditive does not intend to build its own factories. It plans to license the technology to several manufacturers for different applications, potentially two or three partners in the US. Partners would handle production and market entry, while Fooditive would continue improving the technology. Founder and CEO Moayad Abushokhedim says established suppliers already have the production expertise, customer relationships and distribution networks.
What 5-KDF is
5-KDF is a naturally occurring rare sugar found in trace amounts in wine, vinegar and honey. Fooditive makes it by enzymatic bioconversion of fructose using a non-GMO strain of Gluconobacter oxydans bacteria. According to the company, it contains 1.4 calories per gram (versus 4 for sugar), is about 70% as sweet as sugar, causes none of the digestive issues linked to some other bulk sweeteners, and browns in baking like sugar.
The fructose can come from apple and pear pomace, side streams of fruit processing. Production was tested for almost three months in a 75-cubic-meter system at a contract manufacturer in Italy, and the company believes the process could be scaled to 200 cubic meters. Bakery ingredients specialist Puratos has made a strategic investment.
Labeling uncertainty
Fooditive submitted its GRAS notice to the FDA in January 2026. It remains unclear whether 5-KDF will be excluded from added sugars declarations in the US, as allulose and tagatose have been under specified conditions. The company declined to speculate on labeling before the FDA responds.
Fooditive is also considering a US presence in the Rochester region of upstate New York, where apple-processing side streams are available. Abushokhedim hopes for three or four application trials in the market over the coming year.
