Sweet Baby Ray's Has Good News For Sugar-Free Fans
Sweet Baby Ray's has announced an expansion to their Ray's No Sugar Added Sauces. These additions, as they explain in a press release shared with Mashed, are a Sweet and Spicy Barbecue Sauce and a Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce. Both will be available in stores with prices ranging from $2.99 to $3.29.
"The response to Ray's No Sugar Added sauces has been outstanding, Tom Murphy, Vice President of Brand Marketing for Sweet Baby Ray's, raved, per the press release. "We focused first on making sure that our sauces would taste great — no synthetic flavors or runny texture allowed — then ensured that everyone around the table, whether watching sugar intake, following a KETO-friendly eating plan or looking for plant-based and gluten-free options, could enjoy them."
In nutritional terms, the honey mustard contains 130 calories, 240 milligrams of sodium, and 14 grams of fat per two tablespoons, while the barbecue sauce contains 15 calories, 360 milligrams of sodium, and no fat in the same amount of sauce.
The sauces are made with an alternative sweetener
The manner in which Sweet Baby Ray's has managed to render a sauce without sugar that is still as agreeable as the unadulterated version is that they switched to an alternative sweetener called allulose.
Allulose, as Medical News Today explains, is a type of sugar found in dried fruits, brown sugar, and maple syrup. The FDA has found it only contains 0.4 calories per gram, a tenth of that in regular sugar. Furthermore, it appears to have no effect on one's blood glucose levels. So, it is by far a healthier alternative to the sugar we typically label as such. If the addition of a sugar in a no added sugar product confuses you, don't panic. The FDA, according to The National Law Review, has excluded allulose from counting as a total sugar since October 2020 because it metabolizes differently than what they consider sugar, meaning it has fewer calories. As one might imagine, the sugar industry opposes this labelling practice, while candy producers take a pro position.
So, when Sweet Baby Ray's advertises these new sauces as not including added sugar, they are telling the truth.