STICKINESS IS A MAJOR PROBLEM IN VARIOUS SUGAR-BASED FOOD PRODUCTS, FROM CARAMELS, TO HARD CANDY TO SUGAR-COATED CEREALS. SUGAR REDUCTION, A HIGH PRIORITY BASED ON CONSUMER CONCERNS, CHALLENGES MANUFACTURERS IN MANY WAYS. IN SUGAR-COATED CEREALS, REDUCED-SUGAR FORMULATIONS ARE PRONE TO ENHANCED STICKINESS TO CONVEYORS DURING DRYING AND TO EACH OTHER IN THE PACKAGE. WE HYPOTHESIZE THAT THIS ENHANCED STICKINESS OCCURS PRIMARILY BECAUSE OF A DECREASE IN THE CRYSTALLINE CONTENT OF THE SUGAR SURFACE, ENHANCING THE ABILITY TO STICK TO THE SURFACE. THAT IS, THE OVERALL STICKINESS OF A SUGAR COATING IS THE SUM OF STICKINESS OF THE AMORPHOUS PHASE AND THE CRYSTALLINE PHASE ON A MASS BASIS. TO TEST THIS HYPOTHESIS, WE WILL FIRST USE A MODEL SYSTEM OF AMORPHOUS SUGAR AND INERT PARTICLES, MEASURING STICKINESS OF EACH COMPONENT THROUGH A COMBINATION OF TACK TEST AND ATOMIC FORCE MICROSCOPY (AFM). THE ROLE OF BOTH PHASES WILL BE EXPLORED OVER THE RANGE OF MOISTURE CONTENT, TEMPERATURE AND HUMIDITYOF IMPORTANCE. SECOND, WE WILL EXPLORE A VARIETY OF CONDITIONS THAT GIVE DIFFERENT STICKINESS OF THE AMORPHOUS SUGAR PHASE AND DIFFERENT SUGAR CRYSTAL LOADINGS, SPECIFICALLY RELATED TO COMMERCIAL SUGAR COATINGS. FINALLY, WE INTEND TO LOOK AT OTHER ADDITIVES, BOTH PARTICULATE AND SOLUBLE, FOR WAYS TO REDUCE STICKINESS OF REDUCED-SUGAR COATINGS. IN THIS PROJECT, WE USE FUNDAMENTAL APPROACHES TO EXPLORE THE FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE STICKINESS OF PARTIALLY-CRYSTALLINE SUGAR COATINGS TO CONVEYOR SURFACES. THE RESULTS WILL PROVIDE FUNDAMENTAL KNOWLEDGE THAT WILL ADVANCE OUR UNDERSTANDING OF STICKINESS WHILE ALSO PROVIDING OPPORTUNITIES TO ENHANCE REDUCED-SUGAR PRODUCTS.