Liz Parker Kuhn: Can you please talk a bit about ClearIQ, and how it can enhance functionality in chocolate applications?

Grace Kim: ClearIQ is a natural, clean-label flavor modifier that helps to neutralize challenging off-notes, enhance flavor profiles, and enable better-tasting food and beverages. It has been shown to improve mouthfeel, reduce bitterness, and positively modulate the delicate flavor profiles in chocolates and chocolate compounds. Particularly in sugar-reduced chocolate compounds, ClearIQ enhances flavor while reducing the bitterness and sweet linger commonly associated with non-nutritive sweeteners like stevia.

LPK: How can the ingredient help reduce bitterness, eliminate “off notes,” and deliver better-tasting products? Also, what’s the science behind this?

GK: ClearIQ flavor is created through mushroom mycelial fermentation, a proprietary process that uses the natural capabilities of mushrooms to create unique bioproducts. ClearIQ does not taste like a mushroom—in fact, it has very little taste on its own, but it leverages the power of mushrooms to modulate the perception of flavor. It reduces the perception of a wide range of common undesirable flavors or “off-notes” including bitter, astringent, sour, metallic, earthy, beany, and spicy. Fungi are known to produce many different compounds with valuable properties, and our team continues to explore how they work.

LPK: What about facilitating sugar reduction?

GK: ClearIQ helps to harmonize flavors while mitigating the bitterness and unpleasant linger commonly associated with non-nutritive sweeteners, enabling the removal or reduction of sugar without sacrificing the overall taste of the product.

LPK: Consumers are seeking nutritious foods, but don’t want to sacrifice taste. How can ClearIQ help with that?

GK: Nutritious, functional ingredients like proteins, vitamins, minerals, and other bioactives often introduce challenging tastes that can detract from the overall product experience and discourage the adoption of nutritious products. ClearIQ can help to overcome a wide range of complex taste challenges,  facilitating the inclusion of active ingredients, and reducing the need for masking agents like added sugar.

LPK: What other uses does ClearIQ have?

GK: With a wide range of flavor modifying capabilities, ClearIQ can be used with many different applications and ingredients, including beverages, baked goods, CBD, cereal, confections, meat and dairy alternatives, coffee, energy drinks, proteins, and more. For example, confections are often exposed to high temperature processing conditions, and these conditions usually produced cooked sugar or jam-like flavors. We have seen that in some applications, like boiled candies and gummies, ClearIQ can modify a cooked, jam-like raspberry into a fresher raspberry taste.  

LPK: Does MycoTechnology have any other confectionery ingredients coming out this year or in 2026?

GK: We are currently developing Honey Truffle Sweet Protein, an innovative, non-caloric sweetener derived from the honey truffle. It delivers a clean, sweet taste with minimal off-notes, offering a solution for low- and no-sugar products. Our advanced fermentation technology ensures that Honey Truffle Sweet Protein can be produced sustainably, at scale, and at a competitive cost. We’re currently exploring its use across various products and look forward to introducing it to food and beverage markets.

LPK: What are AMP emulsifiers?

Peter Grundtvig Nielsen: AMP is a type of emulsifier designed for use in chocolate. It’s a suspension of a single type of phospholipid in either sunflower oil or rapeseed oil. It’s used as the primary emulsifier in chocolate and can also be combined with PGPR for additional benefits.

LPK: How can they reduce cocoa butter requirements in chocolate? 

PGN: One of the reasons cocoa butter is important in chocolate production is that it helps manufacturers achieve a “normal” rheology, which has a big influence on smoothness, viscosity, and texture in the end product. 

Compared to lecithin, AMP has a very strong ability to adjust rheology by reducing plastic viscosity and yield value. That means cocoa butter can be reduced significantly while still producing high-quality chocolate with the smooth texture that consumers expect. This provides a huge cost advantage as well as great convenience in the molding and coating process.

LPK: Consumers are seeking nutritious foods, but don’t want to sacrifice taste. How can AMP emulsifiers help with that? 

PGN: Lecithin is known for introducing off flavors, but AMP was created specifically for use in chocolate and one of the key advantages is its neutral taste and odor. That means it reveals the true taste of the product with no off taste or aftertaste.

LPK: Does Palsgaard have any other confectionery ingredients coming out this year or in 2026?

PGN: We introduce emulsifiers with new functionality almost every year. One of our most important recent innovations is our high-functioning PGPR 4190 product. It’s a co-emulsifier that can be used alongside AMP to reduce the yield value even further in chocolate and compounds. It’s a powerful solution that’s used at very low levels, which makes it ideal for cutting costs.

We’re now working to add to our portfolio of oil-binding emulsifiers and crystallization emulsifiers, which are widely used in the confectionery industry. Our oil binders are used to avoid oil separation in products with a high amount of liquid oil, and our crystal promoters cut cooling times so help to prevent production slowdowns.

Related: MycoTechnology flavor modifier achieves FEMA GRAS status