sugar substitute

sugar substitute

Sugar substitute neotame, a new sweetener, has been approved by The Food and Drug Administration. Sugar substitute neotame will be used as a general-purpose sweetener in a wide variety of food products, other than meat and poultry. Sugar substitute neotame is a non-nutritive, high intensity sweetener that is manufactured by the NutraSweet Company of Mount Prospect, Illinois.

Sugar substitute neotame, depending on its food application, is approximately 7,000 to 13,000 times sweeter than sugar. Sugar substitute neotame is a free-flowing, water soluble, white crystalline powder that is heat stable and can be used as a tabletop sweetener as well as in cooking applications. Examples of uses for which sugar substitute neotame has been approved include baked goods, non-alcoholic beverages (including soft drinks), chewing gum, confections and frostings, frozen desserts, gelatins and puddings, jams and jellies, processed fruits and fruit juices, toppings and syrups.

Sugar substitute neotame was determined safety after the FDA had reviewed data from more than 113 animal and human studies. The safety studies on the sugar substitute neotame were designed to identify possible toxic effects, such as cancer-causing, reproductive, and neurological effects. From its evaluation of the neotame database, the FDA was able to conclude that sugar substitute neotame is safe for human consumption.