Quantum Foodtec (Q & A)- Guiltless Indulgence!

High intensity Sweeteners: Expert Answers
A lot of misinformation has been disseminated about sweeteners, particularly on the Internet. To help clear up some of the confusion, AFIC (Asian Food Information Centre, www.afic.org) asked an expert in the area of food safety about high intensity sweeteners.

Professor Ron Walker is Emeritus Professor of Food Science, School of Biological Sciences, University of Surrey, UK. A food toxicologist, with research interests in food additives and contaminants, Professor Walker has served on the Food and Agriculture Organization / World Health Organization Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) for 19 years and since 1993 has acted as Chairman or Vice-chairman. AFIC caught up with Professor Walker at the seminar on Risk Assessment and Use of High-intensity Sweeteners, Bangkok, Thailand on November 10, 1999. The meeting was organised by the International Life Sciences Institute, Thailand, the Food and Drug Administration, Thailand, and the Thai Ministry of Public Health.

1. Are high intensity sweeteners safe?

2. Is there a limit to the amount of sweeteners we can safely eat?

3. There has been a lot of "noise" on the Internet claiming links between aspartame and adverse health effects including an increase in the incidence of brain tumours and seizures. Has JECFA looked at these claims?

4. What does the phenylketonuria warning label on products containing aspartame mean?

5. Can eating high intensity sweeteners help people lose weight?

6. Can people with diabetes consume high intensity sweeteners?

7. Can high intensity sweeteners cause dental caries (tooth decay)?

1. Why functional coffee In the first place?
Coffee is one of the most drink beverage in the world and everyone would want to be healthy. So we combine coffee with some healthy ingredients to offer them both.

2. There are plenty of health drinks available. Why should anyone take your functional coffee?
It's not easy to get coffee lovers to take health drinks. Besides, not all health drinks are tasty and easy to prepare. We present an alternative and convenient way for them to continue to consume their regular coffee, without guilt, while still getting the health benefits needed.

3. What's the difference between yours compared to other healthy coffee?
Our coffee have few benefits in one single product such as sugar-free, reduced calorie and contains fiber or vitamins and calcium. Most of others so call healthy coffee are high in sugar, calories and contain only trace amount of healthy/functional ingredients.

4. Both of your coffee are sugar-free. Do I have to add sugar? I can't take coffee without sugar!
You don't need to. It was meant that way. It is blended with sweeteners to provide some sweetness but keeps the calories down. It is also meant for those who wants to cut down on sugar intake.

5. Why sweeteners instead of sugar?
More and more consumers are sugar-concious nowadays. Secondly, sugar content contribute to half of the total calories in most instant coffee mixes. Our coffee is good enough for a diabetic.

6. One of your product's main benefit is sugar-free. Why do you need sweeteners anyway?
There are those that are unable to take coffee without sugar and there are those that are concern about sugar intake. Sweetener is the best choice to satisfy both - including me!

7. What is ADI?
ADI is Acceptable Daily Intake defined as the amount of a food additive that can be ingested daily without appreciable risk. ADIs are more than 100 times less than the smallest amount that might cause an adverse reaction in experimental studies and are applicable to all age groups unless otherwise stated.

The concept was first introduced in 1957 by the Council of Europe and later the Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA), the scientific advisory body to WHO and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Since then, many other committees and governments have adopted the ADI concept, including the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

8. Both your Prebio and Fiber Coffee have Inulin. Why only Prebio Coffee is claimed to have prebiotic feature while Fiber Coffee have both prebiotic and dietary fiber?
Both products do provide prebiotic feature and dietary fiber. Under the Malaysian Food Act and Regulations 1985, Inulin is permitted to have function claims of being able to increase intestinal bifidobacteria (prebiotic) and helps maintain a good intestinal environment. Inulin can also be claim to be able to provide dietary fiber.

Prebio Coffee contains 2g inulin per serving and Fiber Coffee contains 5.3g inulin per serving. It is named such to differentiate the two.

9. Is there a difference between the dietary fiber of Inulin and those of vegetables or fruits?
Inulin is found naturally in over 36,000 fruits and vegetables such as onion, garlic, asparagus, leek, wheat, oat and banana. There are two types of dietary fiber, soluble and insoluble. Inulin is a soluble fiber. Most fruits and vegetables contain both types of dietary fiber.

10. What's the difference between soluble and insoluble fiber?
Both types of fiber are present in all plant foods, with varying degrees of each according to a plant’s characteristics. Insoluble fiber possesses passive water-attracting properties that help to increase bulk, soften stool and shorten transit time through the intestinal tract. Soluble fiber undergoes metabolic processing via fermentation, yielding end-products with broad, significant health effects.

11. What's the difference between Prebiotic and Probiotic?
Prebiotic is basically food for healthy bacteria while Probiotic contain live culture bacteria. At the end, both are meant to promote the growth of healthy bacteria.

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High intensity Sweeteners: Expert Answers

1. Are high intensity sweeteners safe?
Prof. Walker: All sweeteners have undergone extensive research and development and rigorous safety assessments and evaluation before they are approved. Once approved by regulatory bodies, they are deemed safe for human consumption.

Acesulfame-K, aspartame, sucralose, saccharin, cyclamate and alitame have all been reviewed and found safe by the Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) of the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization and the World Health Organization.

2. Is there a limit to the amount of sweeteners we can safely eat?
Prof. Walker: International regulatory bodies use the concept of an Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI) to determine how much of a food additive can be safely eaten. The ADI represents an intake level that if maintained each day over a person's lifetime would be considered safe. ADIs are more than 100 times less than the smallest amount that might cause an adverse reaction in experimental studies and are applicable to all age groups unless otherwise stated.

While all approved sweeteners are deemed as safe, the ADI for low-calorie sweeteners varies between products.

Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI) per kilogram body weight: -

Acesulfame-K - 15 mg
Aspartame - 40 mg
Saccharin - 5 mg
Sucralose - 15 mg

3. There has been a lot of "noise" on the internet claiming links between aspartame and adverse health effects including a increase in the incidence of brain tumours and seizures. Has JECFA looked at these claims?Inulin. Why only Prebio Coffee is claimed to have prebiotic feature while Fiber Coffee have both prebiotic and dietary fiber?
Prof. Walker: These claims are false. Aspartame has been kept under review by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the FAO/WHO Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA), and the Scientific Committee on Food of the European Union (SCF) who have all concluded that it is safe. It has been approved by government regulatory authorities in over one hundred countries. Extensive experimental, clinical and epidemiological research conducted on aspartame shows there is no link between aspartame and any adverse health effects.

8. What does the phenylketonuria warning lable on products containing aspartame mean?
Prof. Walker: Phenylketonuria (PKU) is a rare hereditary disease where affected individuals lack the enzyme to properly metabolise phenylalanine, an amino acid. People suffering from phenylketonuria need to restrict their intake of phenylalanine from all sources including common protein foods such as meat and milk, and products containing aspartame. The labelling informs PKU sufferers of the presence of phenylalanine in the product. The wording of the label varies by country. In countries such as Canada, the European Union and Japan, the label is written as "aspartame, contains a source of phenylalanine", and in the United States the label is written as "Phenylketonurics: contains phenylalanine."

5. Can eating high intensity sweeteners help people lose weight?
Prof. Walker: High intensity sweeteners taste similar to sugar but are much sweeter and contain virtually no calories. They can play a useful role in helping persons to maintain a healthy weight by providing good tasting alternatives to food products that are typically higher in calories. High intensity sweeteners are clearly an option for reducing the total calorie intake in our diet as they can fit into a nutritionally balanced weight loss/weight control regime, however, they will not magically solve weight problems. Successful weight management requires habits that include a balanced diet and regular physical activity.

6. Can people with diabetes consume high intensity sweeteners?
Prof. Walker: Diabetes is a condition that results from the body's inability to make or use insulin. Insulin moves sugar in the blood into cells where it is converted into energy. While the consumption of sugar does not cause diabetes, an important part of diabetes management is to maintain blood sugar levels within healthy limits. High intensity sweeteners can help by providing a sweet taste without increasing blood sugar levels.

7. Can high intensity sweeteners cause dental caries (tooth decay)?
Prof. Walker: No. High intensity sweeteners cannot be fermented by bacteria in the mouth and do not produce acids that erode tooth enamel. They cannot, therefore, cause dental decay.

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