The Sweetener Families In The Food Industry Are Here!
Sep 21, 2020
Sweeteners are food additives whose main purpose is to impart sweetness to food. One "sweet" adjusts the tastes, sweetness can satisfy people's tastes, and at the same time can improve the palatability of foods and certain edible properties of foods.
In recent years, a large number of foods labeled "sugar free" have appeared on the market. But the taste is still sweet. Why is this? In daily life, sweeteners are often used to formulate appropriate taste, adjust and increase flavor, and mask undesirable flavors. Some sweeteners are also important nutrients and supply energy to the body.
Sweeteners are classified into nutritive sweeteners and non-nutritive sweeteners according to their nutritional value; according to their source, they can be divided into natural sweeteners and artificial sweeteners.
Natural sweetener
The sucrose, glucose, and maltose that we usually eat are a kind of carbohydrate. This type of sweet substance has a long history of application and high safety, and belongs to food raw materials. Natural high-intensity sweeteners include steviol glycosides, glycyrrhizic acid and mogroside.
Artificial sweeteners
A class of carbohydrates, commonly known as sugar alcohols, such as sorbitol, maltitol, lactitol, mannitol, and xylitol in sugar-free foods commonly found in the market and chewing gum. This kind of artificial sweeteners are widely used in food manufacturing and belong to food ingredients.
It also includes high-intensity sweeteners, which are chemically synthesized sweet substances that have no calories, no blood sugar production effect, and high sweetness. At present, there are 19 kinds of high-intensity sweeteners approved for use in food additives in my country, of which 12 are chemically synthesized, such as saccharin, cyclamate, aspartame, acesulfame K, alitame, sucralose and some Sugar alcohol and so on.
