This is a likely scenario: A person is shopping in a grocery store, picks a packaged food from the shelf, immediately skips the first line of the nutrition facts panel, information on "Calories Per Serving," and scans to "Total Fat." With the neglect of calories in the past few years, this is not surprising.
The calorie is back—not that it ever left, it just got lost in the shadow of Americans' focus on fat. We are seeing more reminders that being conscious of calories is just as important as being attentive to other nutrients.
Among our many choices, there are a lot of options for reduced-calorie foods and beverages to help balance our overall energy intake. Because no one sweetener meets all consumer and food preparation needs, a variety of reduced-calorie sweeteners (commonly referred to as low-calorie sweeteners), has been developed and is available. Food Insight presents an update on these ingredients that give the satisfyingly sweet taste to many reduced-calorie products.
More Than Just a Sweet Taste
Low-calorie sweeteners taste very similar to sucrose (table sugar) but are much sweeter. Most do not contain any calories. Even though some sweeteners, such as aspartame, contain calories, they are used in such small amounts that they add essentially no calories to foods and beverages. As a result, these sweeteners practically eliminate or substantially reduce calories in some foods and beverages such as carbonated soft drinks, light yogurt and sugar-free pudding.
Low-calorie Sweeteners in the United States
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has to date approved three low-calorie sweeteners for use in the United States: aspartame, acesulfame-K and saccharin.
Aspartame tastes very similar to sucrose but is 200-times sweeter. It is broken down to compounds normally found in the foods we eat everyday: aspartic acid, phenylalanine and a small amount of methanol. Aspartic acid and phenylalanine are essential amino acids (the building blocks of protein) and methanol is found naturally in many foods, such as fruit and vegetable juices. In fact, a glass of tomato juice provides six times as much methanol as a similar amount of diet soda. Many prepared foods contain aspartame which is also available as a tabletop sweetener.
Aspartame underwent extensive safety testing for more than a decade before the FDA concluded in 1981 that aspartame is safe for use by consumers and thus approved its use. Products made with aspartame, however, must carry a statement on the label that they contain phenylalanine. The statement is important for people with phenylketonuria, a rare hereditary disease, because they cannot properly metabolize phenylalanine.
Acesulfame-K, or acesulfame potassium, is produced by using derivatives of acetoncetic acid (a derivative of acetic acid or vinegar). It also is 200-times sweeter than sucrose. Over 90 studies were conducted to test its safety before the FDA approved its use in 1988.
Available as a tabletop sweetener, acesulfame-K also is used in many prepared foods. When eaten alone in high concentrations, acesulfame-K may produce a slight aftertaste. However, blending acesulfame-K with other low-calorie sweeteners helps improve the taste of low-calorie products as well as their sweetness, shelf-life and stability. Also, with blended sweeteners, a synergy often occurs that makes it possible to produce the desired sweetness using a lower total amount of sweeteners.
Saccharin is the oldest of low-calorie sweeteners and has been used to sweeten foods and beverages since the turn of the century. It has a taste 300-times sweeter than sucrose. Saccharin is highly stable, but has a slightly bitter aftertaste.
The FDA proposed a ban on saccharin in 1977 based on animal research that suggested it was a weak bladder carcinogen. However, a congressional moratorium was placed on the ban to allow for more research on saccharin's safety. The moratorium on the ban has been extended seven times based on the need for further scientific study and continued consumer demand. The FDA withdrew the ban in 1991, but the moratorium is still in effect until the year 2002. While numerous studies since 1977 have clearly shown that saccharin does not cause cancer in humans, labels on products with saccharin must continue to have a statement that it has caused cancer in laboratory animals.
No final decision has been made regarding delisting saccharin from Health and Human Services' Public Health Services' National Toxicology Program's (NTP) Report on Carcinogens. Three separate committees have reviewed saccharin: Two internal NTP committees voted to delist saccharin, and a third, external advisory group in a close vote recommended keeping it on the list. A final decision will be made at a later date.
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Anatomy of a Sweetener Approval
How does a new sweetener get approved for use in foods and beverages in the United States? The most common way taken is the food additive petition route. If the information and data provided to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is satisfactory, the agency will indicate that the petition has been "accepted for filing."
In the course of what is usually a lengthy (in some instances 10 years) and intensive review, the FDA requires substantial supporting data for their scientists to analyze. Additional external peer review may also be required. At a minimum, the following data are needed:
- How will the product be consumed and how much?
- Who, including children, adults, men and women, will consume the ingredient, and how much will each group consume?
- What does the ingredient do as an additive to food?
- Is the ingredient toxic and what levels are safe?
- Does the product have the potential to: cause cancer; affect reproduction; be stored in the body; be metabolized into other, potentially unsafe products; or cause allergic reaction?
- How and where is the ingredient made, who makes it, how pure is it?
- Is the ingredient suitable to food processing and consumer use?
During approval, the FDA also sets an acceptable daily intake (ADI) for the ingredient, which is the amount that can be safely consumed on a daily basis over a person's lifetime. The ADI for aspartame, for example, is 50 milligrams per kilogram per day. For a 150-pound adult, this translates to 20 12-ounce containers of carbonated soft drink or 97 packets of tabletop sweetener per day over a lifetime.
The process does not stop with approval. The FDA usually requires an ingredient to be monitored for consumer complaints in addition to dietary surveys to determine consumption.
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Waiting in the Wings
The FDA is currently considering petitions to approve other low-calorie sweeteners, including sucralose, alitame and cyclamate, all of which are already approved for use in numerous other countries.
Sucralose is the only low-calorie sweetener that is made from sugar. It is approximately 600-times sweeter and does not contain calories. Sucralose is highly stable under a wide variety of processing conditions. Thus, it can be used virtually anywhere sugar can, including cooking and baking, without losing any of its sugar-like sweetness.
Today, sucralose is approved in over 25 countries around the world for use in food and beverages. In the United States, sucralose has been petitioned to the FDA for use in 15 different food and beverage categories.
Alitame is formed from amino acids (L-aspartic acid, L-alanine, and a novel amide). It offers a taste that is 2,000-times sweeter than sucrose, and can be used in cooking and baking. If approved, alitame would be suitable for use in a wide variety of products, including beverages, tabletop sweeteners, frozen desserts and baked goods.
Cyclamate is approved for use in Canada and more than 50 countries in Europe, Asia, South America and Africa. Cyclamate is 30-times sweeter than sucrose and is heat-stable. Since 1970, however, its use has been banned in the United States, based on a study suggesting cyclamates may be related to development of bladder tumors in rats. While 75 subsequent studies have failed to show cyclamate is carcinogenic, the sweetener has yet to be reapproved for use in this country.
Low-Calorie Delights
Low-calorie sweeteners help satisfy desires for a sweet taste, and allow people to follow a healthful eating plan that includes their favorite foods. According to Adam Drewnowski, Ph.D., professor at the University of Michigan, "Low-calorie sweeteners offer the best method to date of reducing calories while maintaining the palatability of the diet."
Low-calorie sweeteners are an option for reducing the number of calories in our diet. Although calorie reduction goes hand-in-hand with weight loss, it must be recognized that low-calorie sweeteners in and of themselves will not magically solve our struggles with weight. Successful weight management requires habits that include a balanced diet and regular physical activity.
