Artificial and Man-Made Sweeteners

Artificial Sweeteners

Saccharin
This sweetener compound is 200-700 times sweeter than sugar. It has an unpleasant bitter or metallic aftertaste, especially at high concentrations. In countries where saccharin is allowed as a food additive, it is used to sweeten products such as drinks, candies, medicines, and toothpaste. Saccharin was first produced in 1878 by Constantin Fahlberg, a chemist working on coal tar derivatives in a college laboratory.

Aspartame
Discovered in 1965 by a scientist trying to create an anti-ulcer drug, this chemical is 60-220 times sweeter than sugar. The United States Food and Drug Administration approved its use in food products in 1980. This sweetener is marketed under a number of names, including Equal, NutraSweet, and Canderel. "Aspartame: a safety evaluation based on current use levels, regulations, and toxicological and epidemiological studies".

Acesulfame-K
Accidently discovered in 1967, this compound is 180-200 times sweeter than sugar. This product is often part of sweetener cocktails used to counteract the aftertaste of other man-made / chemical sweeteners. Clauss K., Jensen H. (1973). "Oxathiazinone Dioxides - A New Group of Sweetening Agents"

Sucralose
Discovered in 1976 by scientists working to develop alternative pesticides, this product is approximately 600 times as sweet as sugar. Created through the modification of chlorine atoms, this product is marketed under the brand name Splenda. Frank, Genevieve. Sucralose: An Overview.

Neotame
Neotame is between 7,000 and 13,000 times sweeter than sugar. By adding 3-dimethylbutyl (a chemical the Environmental Protection Agency lists as hazardous) to aspartame, scientists were able to drastically increase the sweetening power of the additive. It is 30 times sweeter than its cousin, aspartame; so only a tiny amount is needed. Since the FDA does not require labels to include ingredients that comprise less than one percent of the product, it's possible that neotame could be used in foods without having to be listed on the label. It might also be camouflaged under "natural flavors."

Sugar Alcohols/Polyols

Sorbitol
Manufactured from glucose derived from various grain starches, and used in diet foods (including diet drinks and ice cream), mints, cough syrups, and sugar-free chewing gum. (Sorbitol: a hazard for diabetics? Nutrition Health Review)

Mannitol
Sugar alcohol manufactured from fructose. Mannitol is also used as a sweetener for people with diabetes. Weiner, Myra L.; Lois A. Kotkoskie (1999). Excipient Toxicity and Safety.

Xylitol
Found in the fibers of many fruits and vegetables, including various berries, corn husks, oats, and mushrooms. Xylitol added to foods is manufactured from hardwood chips. Xylitol is deadly to dogs. - Gare, Fran (February 1, 2003). The Sweet Miracle of Xylitol. Basic Health Publications, Inc.

Erythritol
Manufactured from the glucose derived from corn starch. It is 60–70% as sweet as table sugar yet it is almost non-caloric, does not affect blood sugar, does not cause tooth decay, and is absorbed by the body, therefore unlikely to cause gastric side effects unlike other sugar alcohols.

D-Tagatose
It is often found in dairy products, and is very similar in texture to sucrose (table sugar) and is 92% as sweet, but with only 38% of the calories. Hitting the Sweet Spot, Wired, November 2003.

Isomalt (Palatinit)
Disaccharide composed of the two sugars glucose and mannitol. It is an odorless, white, crystalline substance containing about 5% water of crystallization. Position of The American Dietetic Association (use of nutritive and nonnutritive sweeteners). J Am Diet Assoc. 1998

Lactitol
Used as a replacement bulk sweetener for low calorie foods with approximately 40% of the sweetness of sugar. It is used in sugar-free candies, cookies (biscuits), chocolate, and ice cream. Lactitol is manufactured from whey, the lactose (milk sugar) rich by-product of cheese making and processed dairy foods.

Maltitol
Sugar alcohol (a polyol) used as a sugar substitute. It has 75-90% of the sweetness of sucrose (table sugar) and nearly identical properties, except for browning. It is used especially in production of sweets: sugarless hard candies, chewing gum, chocolates, baked goods, and ice cream. The pharmaceutical industry also uses maltitol.

Polydextrose
It is a multi-purpose food ingredient synthesized from dextrose, plus about 10 percent sorbitol and 1 percent citric acid. Polydextrose is commonly used as a replacement for sugar, starch, and fat in commercial beverages, cakes, candies, dessert mixes, breakfast cereals, gelatins, frozen desserts, puddings, and salad dressings. Gershman, Jacob (2009-03-11). "Dietary Fibber: Don't be fooled by polydextrose and other fiber additives"

HSH/Hydrogenated Starch Hydrolysates/Maltitol Syrups
Mixture of several sugar alcohols (a type of sugar substitute) that was developed by a Swedish company in the 1960s. It is often used in as both a sweetener and as a moisture retaining ingredient. The Sugar Association Inc. "Sugar - Sweet By Nature: Sugar Alcohols" Accessed 1 June 2007.

Caloric Sweeteners

Dextrose
D-glucose is often referred to as dextrose monohydrate, or, especially in the food industry, simply dextrose. Many crops can be used as the source of starch required to make glucose commercially. Maize, rice, wheat, potato, cassava, arrowroot, and sago are all used in various parts of the world.

Glucose Syrup/Corn Syrup
Made from corn starch, corn syrup is used in foods to soften texture, add volume, prevent crystallization of sugar, and enhance flavor. Currently, corn syrup is mainly produced by first adding the enzyme ?-amylase to a mixture of corn starch and water. Its major uses in commercially-prepared foods are as a thickener, sweetener, and humectant (an ingredient that retains moisture and thus maintains a food's freshness). - "High Fructose Corn Syrup Health and Diet Facts"

Crystalline Fructose
This is a processed sweetener derived from corn that is almost entirely fructose. It consists of at least 98% pure fructose, any remainder being water and trace minerals. It is used as a sweetener in the likes of beverages and yogurts, where it substitutes for high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) and table sugar. Crystalline fructose is estimated to be about 20 percent sweeter than table sugar, and 5% sweeter than HFCS. Nutrition Fact Sheet: Facts About Fructose issued by the American Dietetic Association.

Fruit Juice Concentrates
This is a form of juice which has had the majority of its water and minerals removed. One benefit of producing a juice concentrate is the reduction in weight and volume for transportation as the concentrate can be re-constituted at the time of usage by the re-addition of water. Martha Filipic (2002-06-02). "Chow Line: 'Concentrated' juice just as healthful". Ohio State University

High Fructose Corn Syrup
HFCS is any group of corn syrups that has undergone enzymatic processing to convert its glucose into fructose and has then been mixed with pure corn syrup (100% glucose) to produce a desired sweetness. In the United States, consumer foods and products containing high-fructose corn syrup are typically using HFCS as a sugar substitute and it is ubiquitous in processed foods and beverages.

Maltodextrin
This is group of products derived from any starch by an enzyme process. In the US, this starch is usually corn; in Europe, it is commonly wheat. It is commonly used to provide bulk to foods and table-top packets of artificial sweeteners. Alternative carbohydrate sweeteners, Sugar Association.

Trehalose
Trehalose can be found in animals, plants, and microorganisms. In animals, trehalose is prevalent in shrimp, and also in insects, including grasshoppers, locusts, butterflies, and bees, whose blood-sugar is trehalose. Trehalose is used in a variety of processed foods such as dinners, western and Japanese confectionery, bread, vegetables side dishes, animal-derived deli foods, pouch-packed foods, frozen foods, and beverages, as well as foods for lunches, eating out, or prepared at home. T. Arakawa et al / Advanced Drug Delivery Reviews 46 (2001)

Agave
Agave is produced from the tequiliana plant. Juice, called pina, is squeezed from the core of the tequiliana plant. Agave nectar is said by one supplier to be 1.4 to 1.6 times sweeter than sugar. Agave nectar is often substituted for sugar or honey in recipes. Vegans in particular commonly use agave nectar to replace honey in recipes. It is also used as a sweetener for cold beverages such as iced tea because it can dissolve quickly. (Johannes, Laura. "Looking at Health Claims of Agave Nectar". The Wall Street Journal. October 27, 2009)