Main Functions and Classification of Sweeteners

Functions of saccharin sweetener products in food are as follows:

(1) Taste: sweetness is one of the indexes of many foods. In order to make food and drink palatable, a certain amount of sweetener should be added.

(2) The regulation and enhancement of flavor generally need sweetness in pastry; in beverage, the regulation of flavor has a "sugar acid ratio". The sweetener can make the product obtain good flavor and retain fresh flavor.

(3) The formation of flavor, sweetness and the flavor of many foods are complementary. The flavor of many products is produced by the combination of flavor substances and sweeteners, so many foods are added with sweeteners.

There are also many kinds of sweeteners, which can be divided into: natural sweeteners and artificial sweeteners according to their sources; nutritional sweeteners and non nutritional sweeteners according to their nutritional value; sugar and non sugar sweeteners according to their chemical structure and properties.

Although glucose, fructose, sucrose, maltose, starch sugar and lactose are natural sweeteners, they are often regarded as food raw materials and not as food additives in China because they have been eaten for a long time and are important nutrients.

There are natural sweeteners and synthetic sweeteners in non sugar sweeteners. Natural sweeteners include stevia, liquorice, disodium Glycyrrhizinate, Tripotassium glycyrrhizinate and trisodium glycyrrhizinate. Saccharin sweetener products include saccharin, saccharin sodium, cyclohexylaminosulfonic acid sodium, aspartame, etc.