Title: Alternative Sweeteners

468 Bakal
ity of coffee sweetened with a combination of sweeteners closely resembling the
taste quality of sugar-sweetened coffee. Studies conducted in our laboratories
suggest that aspartame/saccharin and aspartame/cyclamate combinations have
improved stability, even in hot aqueous solutions, and also exhibit superior taste
profiles. The superior taste may be associated with flavor-enhancing properties
of aspartame.
From 20–30% of tabletop sweeteners are sold in bulk in the United States,
a significant portion of which is used in cooking and baking. Consumers who
cook with artificial sweeteners are usually those who must restrict their sugar
intake for medical reasons. Saccharin, aspartame, acesulfame-K, and sucralose
are approved for sale in bulk in the United States.
The liquid tabletop sweetener market represents approximately 10% of the
U.S. sales. Aspartame-based products may not be feasible for this application
because of their limited stability in aqueous solutions.
In Europe, most tabletop products are formulated with a combination of
sweeteners. The commercial products include traditional combinations of saccharin
and cyclamate and a combination of acesulfame-K and aspartame.
In summary, tabletop formulations using a single sweetener meet the current
needs of the consuming public; however, each preparation has one or more
serious defects, such as taste or stability. The consensus of experts and consumers
is that tabletop preparations combining two or more sweeteners are superior in
taste and stability and more closely imitate the sweetness of sucrose.
B. Carbonated Beverages
Low-calorie soft drinks represent a significant segment of the market. Current
market share of low-calorie carbonated beverages reportedly exceeds 25% of the
total market. Until the approval of aspartame for use in carbonated beverages in
the United States, only saccharin was available. The level of saccharin used to
sweeten one fluid ounce varies between 8 and 11mg; the actual level depends
on the soft drink flavor and the product brand. To achieve similar sweetness levels
with aspartame as the single-source sweetener, significantly greater amounts of
aspartame are required. Table 2 summarizes the levels of saccharin and aspartame
used in selected soft drinks and syrups, showing that, on the average, the amount
of aspartame used is about 1.5 times the amount of sodium saccharin when each
of the sweeteners is used alone.
Once regulatory approval was granted to aspartame, it became the most
widely used sweetener in soft drinks.
Aspartame-based beverages lose sweetness as a function of storage time,
temperature, and pH. Data submitted by G.D. Searle to the Food and Drug Administration
(FDA) (18) indicate that about 50% of the initial aspartame remains