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Low-calorie sweeteners in foods and beverages

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  • What foods and beverages are now available with low-calorie sweeteners?
  • The wide variety of reduced-calorie and light products that consumers enjoy today would not be possible without low-calorie sweeteners. Calorie-conscious consumers savour sweet pleasures from soft drinks and table-top sweeteners (the biggest applications of low-calorie sweeteners), dairy products such as yoghurt and ice cream, desserts, chewing gums and sweets, condiments such as salad dressings, mustards and sauces and many other products including chewable multi-vitamins and dietary pharmaceutical products. The demand for light foods and beverages by consumers continues to grow. And as more applications and new low-calorie sweeteners are developed and approved for use, more sweet pleasures will become available to consumers at a reduced-calorie cost.
  • How can low-calorie sweeteners be used at home?
  • Sweeteners for individual use at home are called table-top sweeteners. They are supplied in four different forms:

    • sweetener tablets
    • liquid
    • spray-dried granulated (so-called spoon-for-spoon)
    • Concentrated powder sachets

    One sweetener tablet or powder sachet normally corresponds to one teaspoon or one cube of sugar. Two or three drops of a liquid sweetener correspond to one teaspoon of sugar. And typically, one spoon of granulated provides as much sweetness as one spoon of sugar.

    Sweetener tablets and powder sachets are convenient to sweeten hot beverages and liquids, in which they quickly dissolve. Cold drinks can best be prepared with a liquid sweetener.

    Granulated sweetener is a special variant demonstrating the versatility of sweet alternatives. Due to its loose, fine, granule nature, granulated sweeteners are especially suitable for sweetening cereals, fruits and dessert and they can also be used in cooking and baking. Their energy content is up to 90 percent lower than that of sugar. Detailed information about their calorie content and instructions for correct use can be found on the packaging of every product.

    In jams and marmalades, sweeteners do not have the conserving effect of sugar, so energy-reduced products have to be kept in the refrigerator once they are opened. On the other hand, however, sweeteners prevent the undesired fermentation often caused by sugar in marinades and dressings.

  • Why do some foods and beverages contain more than one low-calorie sweetener?
  • Each sweetener has its own unique taste profile and technical characteristics. Sweeteners can be used alone or in combination with each other. With so many low-calorie sweeteners available today, it is now possible to choose the individual or combined sweeteners that are best suited to a particular product or a particular taste in the case of branded table-top sweeteners.