Why sweeteners?

Aspartame
Sucralose

Phenylketonuria
ADI

Nutritional information

What is aspartame?

Aspartame is a low-calorie sweetener that‘s about 200 times sweeter than sugar. It consists of two amino acids, aspartic acid and phenylalanine methyl-ester. The components of aspartame occur naturally in many foodstuffs, such as meat, dairy products, fruits and vegetables. Once swallowed, aspartame decomposes into two basic substances and is handled in the same way as the amino acids derived from any other food.

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Although aspartame is widely used as a sweetener, it is not recommended in oven-cooked dishes or foods that need to be kept warm for long periods because it loses its sweetening capacity. It can, however, be used once the dish has been cooked, for example, for decoration.

History of aspartame

The sweet flavour of aspartame was discovered by James Schaltter as he was working for Robert Muzura at G.D. Searle & Company. Schlatter created aspartame as an intermediate product in a development process of anti-neoplastic medical treatment and inadvertently tasted sweetness as he moistened his finger to turn the page of his notebook. This compound had been produced several years earlier by chemists working for ICI in Great Britain but, unfortunately, its sweet flavour was never discovered at the time.

Aspartame later became known as the low-energy sweetener, NutraSweet, which was brought to international markets in 1983. This substance enabled maufacturers to produce sugar-free food and drinks.