Tagatose
A safe, modern sweetener derived from milk sugar.
- Category
- Sweeteners
- Vegan
- No
- Vegetarian
- No
What it is
A low-calorie functional sweetener with 92% of the sweetness of sugar but only a third of the calories.
How it is used in food
Tagatose tastes about 92% as sweet as sucrose with a genuine sugar-like body and browns in the Maillard reaction, so it behaves in recipes in ways that intense sweeteners cannot, yet supplies only around 1.5 kcal per gram. Roughly 80% escapes absorption in the small intestine and is fermented in the colon, giving it a prebiotic effect, a very low glycaemic impact and no contribution to tooth decay.
Commonly found in- Dietary products
- Low-sugar chocolate
Health and safety
Very safe; it functions similarly to fiber in the gut. However, because it is derived from dairy, it is not vegan.
Tagatose holds US GRAS status and is authorised in the EU as a novel food. EFSA has approved two health claims for it: that replacing sugars with tagatose induces a lower post-prandial blood glucose rise, and that it contributes to the maintenance of tooth mineralisation. Human studies consistently show blunted glycaemic and insulin responses, with the main dose-dependent effect being osmotic gastrointestinal discomfort at large single intakes rather than any systemic toxicity.
Regulatory status
| Region | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Australia & New Zealand FSANZ |
Permitted | Permitted under the FSANZ Food Standards Code. |
| European Union EFSA / European Commission |
Not approved | Not on the EU authorised list of food additives (Annex II). |
| United States FDA (Food and Drug Administration) |
Permitted | Authorised for food use by the FDA (often GRAS for standard additives). |
Identification on labels
- E-number
- E963
Worth knowing
It is a rare sugar — the ketose epimer of fructose — that occurs naturally only in trace amounts, in heated milk, some cheeses and cacao. Commercially it is made from lactose: the milk sugar is hydrolysed to glucose and galactose, and the galactose is isomerised to tagatose, which is why this "sugar" is not vegan.
Conclusion
A safe, modern sweetener derived from milk sugar.
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Open the appEntry last reviewed 2026-07-28.
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