Home : Sucralose : Know the magical molecule |
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In 1976, sucralose was accidentally invented. Tate & Lyle, a sugar company in Europe, was attempting to find and manufacture a substitute for table sugar, or sucrose. The chemists had been changing the sucrose molecules here and there numerous times in an attempt to find the perfect substitution, and, in one case, a researcher asked his assistant to test his newly produced compound. The assistant, whose native language was obviously not English, mistook "test" for "taste". So quickly, he took a handful and popped it into his mouth. The outcome, who would ever guess, was a sweet substance, just like the sucrose from which it was formed. Good thing the newly formed substance, sucralose, was a completely safe molecule. |
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Milestones in the acceptance of sucralose |
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1990 | Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) was the first regulatory body to endorse the safety of sucralose |
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1991 | Canada's Health Protection Branch became the first national regulatory agency to endorse sucralose safety and permit its use in foods and beverages |
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1998 | United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the use of sucralose in 15 food and beverage categories - the broadest initial approval ever given to a food additive |
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1999 | FDA extended the approval by permitting sucralose use as a general - purpose sweetener in all foods, beverages, dietary supplements and medical foods |
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2004 | European Union amended its Sweeteners Directive to permit the use of sucralose in a broad range of food and beverage products. |
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Sucralose is now permitted for use in over 60 countries and has been consumed by millions of people worldwide. |
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Sucralose is derived from sugar through a patented, multi-step process. 3 hydrogen - oxygen groups on the sugar (sucrose) molecule are selectively replaced with 3 chlorine atoms. |
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These tightly bound chlorine atoms are exceptionally stable and prevent sucralose from being metabolized for energy. As a result, studies show that sucralose does not elevate blood glucose or serum insulin levels |
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Sucralose / Know the magical molecule / Why Sucralose |
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