FOOD SCIENCE AND PROCESSING 3 (2+1)

Lesson 30 : Processing and Preparation of Sugar and Related Products

Non-caloric sweeteners

• Cyclamate
  It is thirty times sweeter than sucrose. It tastes much like sugar and is heat stable. It was banned following a report that some rats receiving very large doses had developed tumours of the urinary bladder.


• Acelsulfame-K
  It is a synthetic derivative of acetoacetic acid and readily soluble in water. It is not metabolised in the body and is excreted unchanged. It has little undesirable aftertaste. At very high concentrations it exhibits lingering bitter and metallic flavour attributes. Acesulfame-K, the potassium salt of acelsulfame is up to 200 times sweeter than a 3 percent sucrose solution. FDA (USA) approved this compound for use as a table-top sweetener and in dry beverage mixes, instant coffee and tea, puddings, gelatine, chewing gum and dairy product analogs.
  
  In mixtures of acelsulfame-K and aspartame (1:1 by weight) there is a strong synergistic enhancement of sweetness. Blends are 300 times sweeter than sucrose solutions while individually they are only 100 times sweeter.
  
  Acelsulfame-K is heat stable hence can be used in cooked and baked products. In preparations like baked custard, half the amount of sugar can be substituted with acelsulfame-K without changing the acceptability.


• Alitame
  It is a dipeptide-based amide and has a sweet taste similar to sugar. It is more than 2000 times sweeter than sucrose.


• Aspartame
  It is made by combining two amino acids – aspartic acid and phenylalanine – and adding methyl alcohol to form a methyl ester. Aspartame is a white, odourless, crystalline powder that has a sugar-like taste and sweetness potency 180 to 200 times that of sucrose without any bitter aftertaste. Since it cannot be utilised by the body the caloric value is insignificant. It is used in soft drinks, chewing gum and instant coffee and tea. Aspartame enhances fruity flavour.
  Aspartame is not stable to heat and changes chemically and loses sweetness. Its instability to heating can be corrected by encapsulating a core of granulated aspartame with a water-resistant coating the aspartame in the final stages of baking.
  
  The use of low calorie bulking agents along with Aspartame is also necessary to produce the effects on volume and texture that sugar provides in many baked products.
  
  According to that Joint Committee of FAO/WHO aspartame, Allowed Daily Intake is 40 mg/kg body weight.


• Saccharin
  It is sodium ortho benzene sulphonamide or the calcium salt. It is 300 times sweeter than sucrose. It is stable in a wide variety of products under extreme processing. It can be synthesised with relatively few impurities and is inexpensive. It gives bitter aftertaste at higher concentration. But when used in combination with aspartame or cyclamate, sweetness is enhanced and bitterness is decreased. Saccharin, a non-nutritive sweetener, is now being used to sweeten arecanut (supari and pan masala). According to prevention of Food Adulteration Act (1954) not more than 100 ppm of saccharin may be used. Now as per the Indian legislation, a mention has to made on the label about the addition of artificial sweetener. Saccharin or any other artificial sweetener shall not be added to any article of food except where its addition is permitted in accordance with standards given in Appendix B of PFA 1954.
  
  According to the Joint Committee of FAO/WHO, Allowed Daily Intake (ADI) of saccharin is 0-2.5 mg/kg body weight.


• Sucrolose
  It is a white crystalline solid produced by the selective addition of chlorine atoms to sucrose. It is 600 times sweeter than sugar with no bitter aftertaste. It is very much soluble in water and stable at high temperatures and therefore can be used in baked goods. Sucrolose does not interact with any other food components. It is calories-free and does not affect blood sugar level.