Paper 16: Advances in Food Science and Technology

Module 28: Developments in Artificially Sweetened Foods

28.1 Introduction

Sweeteners can be classified, based on their contribution towards energy, as nutritive and
non-nutritive sweeteners. Nutritive sweeteners are those substances, which when consumed,
not only provide sweet taste but also contribute 4 kcal per gram of substance. It includes
sugar, honey, D-glucose, invert sugar, caramel, maltodextrin, high-fructose corn syrup and
dextrose syrup. Low-calorie sweeteners are nutritive sweeteners that are relatively less sweet
than sucrose and provide energy between 1 to 3 kcal per gram. Polyols are low-calorie
sweeteners (about 2 kcal per gram) that occur naturally in a number of fruits, all vegetables,
cereals, algae, mushrooms, seaweeds, etc. e.g. sorbitol, maltitol, lactitol and mannitol.
Polyols are industrially obtained under high temperature by catalytic hydrogenation of the
relevant saccharides. Non-nutritive sweeteners are those sweeteners that offer no energy such
as aspartame, acesulfame-K, sucralose etc.

The rise in obesity in industrialized countries has established a trend for calorie-reduced
nutrition. Also, there is an increased discussion about the safety of saccharin and cyclamate,
the two sweeteners which were predominant for a long time. The search for new sweeteners
is complicated by the fact that the relationship between chemical structure and sweetness
perception is not yet satisfactorily resolved. In addition, the safety of suitable compounds has
to be certain. Some other criteria must also be met, for example, the compound must be
adequately soluble and stable over a wide pH and temperature range, have a clean sweet taste
without side or post-flavor effects, and provide a sweetening effect as cost-effectively as does
sucrose.

28.2 Sweet Taste:

For sweetness, a compound must contain a proton donor/acceptor system (AHs/Bs-system),
which has to meet some steric requirements and which can interact with a complementary
receptor system (AHr/Br-system) by involvement of two hydrogen bridges.

(Birch, 1991)
It has been shown with numerous compounds that as the hydrophobicity and the space-filling
properties of hydrophobic groups increase, the sweetening strength increases, passes through
a maximum, and finally reaches a limit beyond which the sweet taste is either quenched or
changes into a bitter taste.

28.3 Synergism:

In mixtures of sweet tasting substances, synergistic intensification of taste occurs, i. e., the
sweetness intensity is higher than the calculated value. An example is the intensification of
sweetness in acesulfame–aspartame mixtures

(Source: Belitz et al.- Food Chemistry 4th edition)

28.4 Commonly used sweeteners:

The intensity of the sweetness of a given substance in relation to sucrose is made on a

weight basis (Table-1).
Table-1. Relative Sweetness of Sweeteners

Sweetener Approximate Sweetness

Sucrose 1.0

Crystalline fructose 1.2 - 1.7

Hydrogenated starch hydrolysates 0.4-0.9

Lactitol 0.4

Trehalose 0.45

Isomalt 0.45-0.65

Sorbitol 0.6

Mannitol 0.7

Maltitol 0.9

Xylitol 1.0

Aspartame 180

Acesulfame potassium 200

Saccharin 300

Sucralose 600

Stevioside 300

Neotame 8000

(Source: Belitz et al.- Food Chemistry 4th edition)

a) Aspartame: is made from two naturally occurring amino acids i.e., dipeptide of
phenylalanine and aspartic acid. Its not a carbohydrate and can be classified under non
nutritive sweetener. Aspartame can be safely consumed by all populations, but is a
poor dietary choice for sufferers of rare genetic disorder phenylkeonuria
(PKU).However, being amino acids undergo denaturation, so its use is limited in
foods and its unstable at low pH or high temperatures and needs to be encapsulated in
baked goods. Accepted Dietary Intake of aspartame is 50mg/kg body weight per day.
b) Saccharin: mostly used in the form of the water-soluble Na salt, which is not so
sweet. At higher concentrations, this compound has a slightly metallic to bitter after-
taste. The present stipulated ADI value is 15mg/kg of body weight. Its heat stable,
 however when exposed to low pH gets hydrolyzed. Being not metabolized by human
system its non nutritive sweetener.
c) Cyclamate: marketed as the Na- or Ca-salt of cyclohexane sulfamic acid. It has no
bitter after-taste. Overall, the sweet taste of cyclamate is not as pleasant as that of
saccharin. The present stipulated ADI value of the acid is 0−11 mg/kg of body
weight.
d) Acesulfame K: A combination of organic acid (acetoacetic acid) and potassium,
belongs to the oxathiazinone dioxides family. Acesulfame K or ace K (on labels)Since
our system cannot metabolize acesulfame K its calorie free. Combination of an
organic acid and potassium. Being heat stable can be used in baked products also.
ADI of acesulfame K is 15mg/kg body weight. Its also called ‘rich man’s
saccharin.Its limitation is its bitter aftertaste which forces it to be used in blend with
other sweeteners.
e) Sucralose: Exceptionally heat stable, making it ideal for use in baking, canning,
pasteurization, aseptic processing and other manufacturing processes that require high
temperatures. Heat stable and lacks an aftertaste Not recognized by the body and
passes unmetabolized. ADI is 5mg/ kg body weight.
f) Stevia: are new promising natural, sweet-tasting calorie-free botanical product that
may also be used as a sugar substitute or as an alternative to artificial sweeteners. Its
heat-stable, pH-stable, and do not ferment. Naturally occurring intense non nutritive
sweetener. Extracted from the leaves of Stevia rebaudiana. Recently permitted by
FSSAI in India for use in various foods (dairy based drinks, fruit nectors,jams,
jellies,chewing gums, etc). ADI of upto 4mg/kg body weight.
g) Neotame: FDA approved very intense artificial sweetener composed of Aspartic acid-
Phenylalanine dipeptide Very little is needed. ADI of 18 mg/person/day. Its low
calorie,nutritive (4 cal/g), heat stable, slightly soluble artificial sweetener. However
owing to high heat stability can be used in baked goods, beverages, dairy, cereals.

28.5 Artificially Sweetened Products:

a) Carbonated and non carbonated beverages: Cola beverages sweetened with

aspartame and saccharin (1:1) and stored at 20°C showed significantly better
sweetness stability than those sweetened with aspartame alone and stored under the
same conditions. Addition of a small amount of aspartame, improved the acceptance
 of saccharin-sweetened soft drinks. Blends of aspartame and sucralose improved the
sweetness quality in cola beverages. Blends of aspartame and acesulfame-K improved
the sweetness intensity of cola drinks. A variety of sweeteners (caloric and non-
caloric) were tested, using commercially available cola flavouring.
b) Chewing gum: Use of a combination of aspartame and saccharin in chewing gum
(2:1), gave increased stability. The approval of acesulfame-K has resulted in the
introduction of this sweetener alone and with a combination of acesulfame-K and
aspartame
c) Processed foods: Sweetener intensity profiles of blends (aspartame/cyclamate,
aspartame/ cyclamate / saccharin, acesulfame-K / saccharin, aspartame / saccharin /
acesulfame-K, acesulfame-K/ aspartame, aspartame/ saccharin) in shortbread cookies
yielded products similar to that obtained using sucrose.
d) Burfi: It contains high amounts of sugar (30%). Successful attempts were made by
researchers in developing a technology for the production of dietetic burfi for a target
group of obese, diabetic and those prone to heart related problems. Aspartame and
neotame showed poor stability in dietetic burfi. Sucralose was selected as a high
potency sweetener on the basis of its most preferred sweetness profile and excellent
stability in the product. Shelf life studies revealed that vacuum packaged dietetic burfi
can be stored without spoilage for 12 days at 30°C and 40 days at 5°C. Researchers
have reported that use of artificial sweeteners viz. saccharin, acesulafem-K, sucralose
and aspartame in burfi resulted in low instrumental hardness, adhesiveness,
springiness, gumminess and chewiness with a decreased compactness of the network
as revealed by the scanning electron microscopy. Recently, reports have been
published on the stability of aspartame in burfi and aspartame sweetened (0.065%)
burfi resembled control burfi in sweetness with 94% recovery of aspartame when
stored at 6-8°C for 7 days.
e) Rasogolla: Because of its high sugar content (32-55%) in rasogolla, the people who
are suffering from diabetes are not able to relish this delicious product. Technology
has been developed for the manufacture of sugar free rasogolla using artificial
sweeteners for such a large group of people. The use of 40% sorbitol and 0.08%
aspartame was found to be optimum for cooking of rasogolla balls. The higher
sorbitol level resulted in hard body and unacceptable flavour where as lower level
caused flattening of rasogolla balls with surface cracks. Aspartame did not much
affect the sensory quality of the product except for its sweetness. No signs of
 deterioration in terms of flavour body and texture, color and appearance and
sweetness of the product were observed up to 20 days at refrigeration temperature and
up to 15 days at ambient temperature.
f) Kulfi: Contains high sugar (13-20%) in it. Technology for the production of
artificially sweetened kulfi using combination of bulking agents mainly maltodextrin,
sorbitol and artificial sweeteners such as aspartame, acesulfame-K and sucralose has
been developed. Aspartame was found to be a suitable sweetener with maltodextrin
and sorbitol as bulking agents. Kulfi mix was flavored with cardamom, filled in
mould and frozen in ice and salt mixture. The level of aspartame had a major impact
on sweetness of the product. The body and texture were mainly affected by levels of
maltodextrin and sorbitol.
g) Gulabjamun: Researchers optimized the critical variable of gulabjamun preparation
using sugar substitutes i.e. concentration of syrup, soaking temperature and duration
of soaking using response surface methodology. Based on the optimized conditions
gulabjamun without sugar could be prepared without affecting the quality of product.
Soaking of fried gulabjamun balls in sorbitol syrup of 54°B strength added with
aspartame @ 0.25% maintained at 65°C for 3 hrs yielded the good quality product.
h) Misti dahi: Various market survey reports on the quality of misti dahi sold in
different parts of the country revealed wide variations in the fat (1-12%) and cane
sugar (6-25%) contents. Studies were carried out to replace cane sugar in misti dahi
with a blend of sweeteners along with bulking agents and it was reported that
maltodextrin was found to be the most suitable bulking agent in the preparation of
artificially sweetened misti dahi using a binary blend of aspartame and acesulfame-K.
i) Shrikhand: This indigenous dairy product is prepared by lactic acid coagulation of
milk, separation of whey form curd followed by blending with grounded sugar,
flavour, colour and selected spices. It has very high content of sugar (%40). The effect
of sugar replacers on sensory attributes and storage stability of shrikhand was studied
by Singh and Jha (2005). Among various combinations of sugar and raftilose tried,
shrikhand prepared with raftilose (4%) and sugar (12.5%) was rated as most
acceptable by the sensory panelists. Sugar and raftilose exhibited significant effect on
flavour, body and texture and overall acceptability no significant effect was observed
on color and appearance.
j) Dairy-based beverages: Researchers have developed a low calorie lassi, a traditional
fermented refreshing beverage, by using aspartame and reported that aspartame at a
level of 0.08% was required to replace 15% of cane sugar in lassi. Recently, reports
on the the stability of multiple sweeteners in lassi and shows that binary blend of
aspartame and acesulfame-K is the best as it resembled control sample in all the
sensory attributes up to 5 days of storage. Whey-based drinks using high potency
sweeteners was developed and both aspartame and acesulfame-K was found to be
suitable sweetening agents in cottage cheese whey based fruit drinks. It was further
reported that, in such drinks, the total calories were reduced to almost 50%.
Physicochemical, microbiological and sensory qualities of the three types of flavoured
milks viz. toned, double toned and skimmed milk (with a combination of saccharin
and aspartame (33 mg/L and 368 mg/L)did not differ greatly with that of their
counterparts with sucrose.