The safety and function of sweeteners

Definition of Sweeteners 472 China Feed Industry Information Network - Based on Feed, Serving Livestock

A sweetener is a food additive that imparts a sweet taste to a food. At present, there are more than 20 kinds of sweeteners approved for use in China, and recently approved double sweet and soma sweet. Non-sugar sweeteners and sugar alcohols are generally managed as food additives and are called sweeteners. Non-sugar sweeteners have high sweetness, very little dosage, and low calorific value. They are completely different from sugars such as sucrose, and are not involved in metabolic processes. They are often called non-nutritive or low calorie sweeteners. High-intensity sweetener or high-intensity sweetener (including: stevioside, sucralose, aspartame, AK sugar, cyclamate, licorice, monopotassium glycyrrhizinate, tripotassium glycyrrhizinate, ammonium glycyrrhizinate, sweet mangosteen Glycosides, saccharin, neotame, double sweet, soma sweet, alitame, etc.). Sugar alcohol sweeteners (including xylitol, sorbitol, erythritol, Maltitol, mannitol, lactitol, isomalt, etc.) are mostly synthetically synthesized, and their sweetness is similar to that of sucrose. , or because of its low calorific value, or because it has a different metabolic process than glucose, and has some special uses. 472 China Feed Industry Information Network - based on feed, serving animal husbandry

At present, there are many sweeteners used in the world, and there are different classification methods: according to their sources, they can be divided into natural sweeteners and synthetic sweeteners; according to their nutritional value, they can be divided into nutritive and non-nutritive sweeteners. According to its chemical structure and nature, it can be divided into sugar and non-sugar sweeteners. Sugar sweeteners such as sucrose, glucose, fructose, fructose syrup, etc. all provide sweetness. They are commonly referred to as sugar in China and are classified as foods. They are generally not food additives in countries all over the world. In recent years, oligosaccharides produced and applied at home and abroad, such as oligofructose and oligomeric maltose, have some physiological activities, in addition to some sweetness, and are mostly attributed to food ingredients, and are generally not managed as food additives. 472 China Feed Industry Information Network - based on feed, serving animal husbandry

The role of sweeteners 472 China Feed Industry Information Network - based on feed, serving livestock

Sweeteners are an important product in the food additive and animal feed industries. They are consistently ranked among the top food additives in the world. The use of sweeteners in food is not only to satisfy consumers. The sensory needs of sweetness, mouthfeel and flavor are also needed to meet the needs of many food production processes, which play a key role in the adjustment of food and beverage styles during the processing and production process. 472 China Feed Industry Information Network - based on feed, serving animal husbandry

In the past 20 years, the incidence of high incidence of obesity, diabetes and dental caries has been considered to be closely related to dietary habits and dietary structure, especially to excessive sucrose intake. Sucrose, as a traditional sweetener, has a good taste, but The health of the human body has a certain impact. As the public's health requirements are getting higher and higher, people's requirements for various sweeteners are becoming more and more demanding. Health, taste and price are the focus of consumers' attention. How to make the sweetener energy value as low as possible or even the energy value is zero to meet the health requirements, how to make it taste better to meet the taste requirements, how to make the price more suitable to meet people's consumption level, these three problems have become scientists The focus of research and development of sweeteners. 472 China Feed Industry Information Network - based on feed, serving animal husbandry

Therefore, "functional" sweeteners with high safety, no nutritional value, no calories or very low calories have emerged. Currently, sweeteners fall into two broad categories, namely "functional" high-intensity sweeteners and "functional" filled sweeteners. Functional high-intensity sweeteners typically have a sweetness of more than 10 times that of sucrose. According to different sources, high-intensity sweeteners are divided into two categories: natural extracts and chemically synthesized products. Natural extracts currently mainly include stevioside, licorice and soma sweet. Chemical synthetic products mainly include aspartame, neotame, sucralose, acesulfame, and alitame. Filled sweeteners typically have a sweetness of 0.2 to 2 times that of sucrose, and act as both a sweetener and a filler to impart a structure and volume to the food. The bulk sweetener is mainly a polysaccharide alcohol. Polysaccharide alcohols include erythritol, xylitol, and maltitol. So far, about 20 kinds of high-intensity sweeteners have been approved in the world, and most of the varieties approved by most countries are sucralose, stevioside, acesulfame, cyclamate, aspartame, and alitame. , double sweet, neotame, glycyrrhizin, mogroside, saccharin sodium and soma sweet. 472 China Feed Industry Information Network - based on feed, serving animal husbandry

High-intensity sweeteners are characterized by high safety, low dosage, high sweetness, and are less prone to dental caries. The cost of use is generally much lower than that of sucrose. Synthetic high-intensity sweeteners currently occupy a large market share because it has the following advantages: 472 China Feed Industry Information Network - based on feed, serving animal husbandry

1. Synthetic high-intensity sweetener has high sweetness, small volume, low usage, energy value of 0 or almost 0, which is beneficial to manufacturers to reduce costs and improve efficiency. 472 China Feed Industry Information Network - based on feed, serving animal husbandry

2. Not digested and absorbed by the body, does not cause blood sugar fluctuations, there is no risk of obesity and hyperlipidemia, and special populations such as diabetics and obese people can be safely eaten. 472 China Feed Industry Information Network - based on feed, serving animal husbandry

3. It is harmless to human teeth and does not cause dental caries. 472 China Feed Industry Information Network - based on feed, serving animal husbandry

4. Aspartame, sucralose and the like have obvious flavor enhancement effects in foods. 472 China Feed Industry Information Network - based on feed, serving animal husbandry

Of course, high-intensity sweeteners also have some shortcomings, mainly reflected in the following two aspects: 472 China Feed Industry Information Network - based on feed, serving animal husbandry

First, the sweetness of a small number of synthetic products is not pure enough, with varying degrees of bitterness, metallic aftertaste or odor, and there is a certain gap compared with the sucrose flavor, which is sometimes difficult to accept. For example, saccharin has some bad taste; for example, alitame, because of its molecular sulfur content, the taste is also affected. However, most of the sweeteners such as sucralose and stevioside (RA) have very good sweet taste characteristics, and the taste is similar to that of sucrose. 472 China Feed Industry Information Network - based on feed, serving animal husbandry

Second, because of the high sweetness and small volume of high-intensity sweetener products, the use of equal sweetness instead of sucrose in solid or semi-solid foods can cause significant changes in texture, viscosity, volume and food flavor. In this case, it is also necessary to use a filler or a bulk sweetener. 472 China Feed Industry Information Network - based on feed, serving animal husbandry

Therefore, the global market is increasingly demanding a new generation of higher-intensity sweeteners with higher performance and better performance. The high-intensity sweeteners currently in the development and utilization stage include sweet protein, African bamboo stalk, sugar alcohol reprocessing sweetener, and super sweetener perilla. The new high-intensity sweeteners developed must meet the requirements of the food industry, and must pass the strict toxicity and toxicological test safety evaluation. The specific requirements should include: high safety; high sweetness; sweetness close to or similar to sucrose; stable in nature Easy to use; low cost, environmental protection, etc.