Extension Communications
3614 Administrative Services Building
Ames, Iowa 50011-3614
(515) 294-9915
12-12-00
Contacts:
Elisabeth Schafer, ISU Extension Food Science and Nutrition,
(515) 294-1359, eschafer@iastate.edu
Diane Nelson, ISU Extension Communication Systems, (515),
294-3178, dinelson@iastate.edu
Splenda, the Splendid New Sugar, Is Now Available
Ames, Iowa--Want something sweet, but without the calories? Sucralose, a calorie-free sweetener is the newest non-nutritive sweetener in the U.Snited States and became readily available in grocery stores under the brand name "Splenda" in October.
"Chemically, sucralose is a sugar molecule with three chlorine atoms substituted for hydroxyl groups," said Elisabeth Schafer, extension nutritionist at Iowa State University. "This changes the molecule's size and shape so that human enzymes cannot use it; thus it has no calories. This chemical change also increases the sweetness 600- fold. The taste is very much like sugar, but without the unpleasant aftertaste that accompanies several other non-nutritive sweeteners."
Because Splenda is so intensely sweet, sucralose is blended with maltodextrin, a bulking agent, to provide volume, and this bulking agent provides miniscule amounts of energy -- about 1 calorie per 2 teaspoons.
"Due to sucralose's exceptional stability it has great potential for use," Schafer said. "It can be used like a tabletop sugar, but also can be used in cooked and baked products with no loss of sweetening power. Sucralose can be used as a spoon-for-spoon replacement for sugar, although that can get rather costly."
Discovered in 1976, sucralose has been extensively tested for safety and is now approved as a general, all-purpose sweetener. It has been approved for use around the world, and 110 studies that have demonstrated the safety of sucralose. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved its use in 1998.
"However, two questions remain regarding the safety for children and safety at the very high doses that some people might use if they begin to substitute sucralose for much of other sweeteners they typically consume," Schafer said.
For additional information, contact Elisabeth Schafer, Iowa State University Extension nutritionist, at (515) 294-1359.
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