Aspartame: Sweetener That Divides Opinions

Very few would want to do without the sweet taste completely, be it in the form of chocolate or sweetened tea. But it shouldn’t be sugar that provides the popular aroma. Is aspartame an alternative?

Extremely sweet sugar substitute: aspartame

Sugar is high in calories and unhealthy: that’s what many people think and prefer foods that don’t have it on the list of ingredients. The industry is meeting demand, using sweeteners and sugar substitutes like erythritol and xylitol instead. The latter are naturally occurring sugar alcohols with a similar or slightly lower sweetening power than sugar. Sweeteners, on the other hand, come from artificial production and are much sweeter – the sweetening power of aspartame is about 200 times higher. Since very small amounts are enough for a sweet taste, foods with aspartame can be made with fewer calories.

Is Aspartame Harmful?

There are persistent rumors that the sweetener is unhealthy. There is an aspartame allergy, the sugar substitute is a neurotoxin, carcinogenic, and damages the genetic material, so the allegations. Scientific studies have not confirmed any of this. A risk assessment by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) was in favor of the sweetener and came to the conclusion that aspartame is harmless in a daily maximum amount of 40 mg per kg body weight. Only people with the metabolic disease phenylketonuria should avoid the sweetener. Nevertheless, aspartame can have “side effects”: The consumer advice center points out that the artificial sweetness cannot keep up with sugar in terms of taste and is, therefore, less able to satisfy the sweet tooth.

What is the function of additives in food?

Food additives are substances that are mainly used for technological purposes. This means that the additives in processed food should optimize the product properties. Products can be further processed more easily due to improved baking, flow, or spreadability. Or they change the chemical behavior of the product, for example, oxidation, or ensure a more stable consistency and longer shelf life. Other substances are added to improve appearance or other sensory properties.

Additives are divided into different groups or classes depending on their function. Preservatives inhibit the growth of mould, yeast, and bacteria and thus ensure that the product does not spoil as quickly. Benzoic acid in fish products or sulfur dioxide in dried fruit also serve to improve the shelf life. Antioxidants such as ascorbic acid in canned fruit do not cause the fruit to turn brown and therefore look unappetizing when exposed to oxygen.

In the industrial processing of food, the effect of natural flavorings can decrease or be lost, so flavor enhancers should provide a balance. Glutamate and yeast extract in ready meals, condiments, and instant broth are examples. Sweeteners such as aspartame, saccharin, or sucralose or sugar substitutes such as sorbitol, xylitol, or maltitol are added so that sugar-free chewing gum and candies as well as low-calorie lemonades still taste sugary.

Colorings not only help food to look nicer, they also create a recognition value: If gummy bears, sweets, puddings or jams taste like cherries or berries, the red color should also visually underline the taste. Different colored or colorless products with the same taste would confuse many consumers.

Other frequently used additives are thickening and raising agents. Thickening agents such as modified starch, carrageenan and pectin ensure that sauces, puddings and creams have a pleasant consistency. In light products they can serve as a substitute for fats. Chemical leavening agents such as baking powder loosen the dough of bread, cakes and biscuits and allow them to rise better.

Additives can be recognized in the list of ingredients of products either by the fact that they are given with the group designation, their function and the name of the substance or with their approval number. The approval number begins with an “E” for “Europe”, followed by a code between 100 and 1521, which is based on the functional class. E numbers between 100 and 199 indicate coloring agents, for example, preservatives can be found under the numbers E 200 and 299.

Although additives are carefully checked before they are approved, some people are sensitive to them. In this case, the corresponding products should only be enjoyed in moderation or avoided. This also applies if you suffer from diseases such as gout – read more about the connection between additives and gout in the article on purines.

How to use aspartame

Adults who want to lose weight with aspartame can use the sweetener in the usual amounts. Children may need to exercise restraint so that they are not overwhelmed by the very intense sweet taste. However, if you want to bake without sugar, aspartame is not the first choice: At high temperatures above 100 °C, it decomposes and loses its effect. The sugar volume is also missing due to the small amounts. If you want to replace the sugar with aspartame in recipes for desserts, you should bear this in mind so that you end up with the desired consistency. If you want to try the sweetener, it can be found on the market under various names. Other names for aspartame include Canderel and NutraSweet, and the additive label is E 951.