Compound foods, sweeteners

The regulations also provide for what is conunonly known as reverse carry-over. This means permitted sweeteners can be present in foods (such as intermediary products) in which they would not otherwise be permitted, provided that these foods are to be used solely in the preparation of a compound food that will conform to the regulations. 

Acesulfame-K. Acesulfame-K [55589-62-3] (4), the potassium salt of acesulfame [33665-90-6] (6-methyl-l,2,3-oxathiaziQ-4(3ff)-one 2,2-dioxide), is a sweetener that resembles saccharin in stmcture and taste profile. 5,6-Dimethyl-l,2,3-oxathiazine-4(3ff)-one 2,2-dioxide, the first of many sweet compounds belonging to the dihydrooxathia2inone dioxide class, was discovered accidentally in 1967 (63). From these many sweet compounds, acesulfame was chosen for commercialisation. To improve water solubiUty, the potassium salt was made. Acesulfame-K (trade name Sunette) was approved for dry product use in the United States in 1988 and in Canada in October, 1994. Later, it was approved by the FDA for additional food categories such as yogurts, frosen and refrigerated desserts, and baked goods. 

Lactose has a sweetish taste, and is used extensively in the pharmaceutical industry. It is the second most widely used compound and is employed as a diluent, filler or binder in tablets, capsules and other oral product forms, a-lactose is used for the production of lactitol, which is present in diabetic products, low calorie sweeteners and slimming products. As lactose is only 30 per cent as sweet as sugar it is used as a sugar supplement, and also in food and confectionery. It is used in infant milk formulas. 

For example, the natural sugars (sucrose, fructose, etc.) arc best known for their contribution of sweetness to food products. The sugars, however, also perform other useful functions, including their natural preservative qualities and, in many foods such as baked goods, contribute considerable bulk to the finished product. As described under Sweeteners, a number of artificial, non-carbohydrate compounds serve as excellent sweeteners, but they lack the ability to achieve the desired bulk,... 

Acesulfame-K. This substance (potassium salt of the cyclic sulfano-mide), 6-methyl-l,2,3-oxatJiiazine-4(3H)-l,2.2-dioxide, shown below, was developed by Karl Clauss (IloechstCelanese Corporation, Somerville, New Jersey) in 1967. The compound is a white, odorless, crystalline substance with a sweetening power 200 times that of sucrose. A synergistic effect is produced when the substance is combined with a number of other sweeteners. The substance is calorie-free and not metabolized in the human body. Approval of the use of Acesulfame-K was given by the Food and Drug Administration ( FDA) in the United States in 1983 and it is found in scores... 

D-Mannitol has a diverse range of industrial applications. It is a nonhydroscopic, low-calorie, noncariogenic sweetener utilized by the food industry as well as a feedstock for the synthesis of other compounds. For example, mannitol can be oxidized at the 3 or 4 position to form two molecules of glyceraldehyde or glyceric acid, which can be used as building blocks for other compounds (Heinen et al., 2001 Makkee et al., 1985 van Bekkum and Verraest, 1996). Mannitol is formed from inulin via hydrolysis followed by catalytic hydrogenation. This yields mannitol and sorbitol from which the mannitol can be readily crystallized (Fuchs, 1987). Currently mannitol is primarily synthesized from starch. 

Food chemistry includes much larger-scale items than flavours. Sweeteners such as sugar itself are isolated from plants on an enormous scale. Sugar s structure appeared a few pages back. Other sweeteners such as saccharin (discovered in 1879 ) and aspartame (1965) are made on a sizeable scale. Aspartame is a compound of two of the natural amino adds present in all living things and is made by Monsanto on a large scale (over 10 000 tonnes per annum). 

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