New FDA-Approved High-Intensity Sweetener to Hit Shelves

Advantame is the sixth high-intensity sweetener approved by the FDA. The food additive is safe for use as a general-purpose sweetener and flavor enhancer in food, except for meat and poultry.

High-intensity sweeteners can be used as sugar replacements and contribute few to none calories to the diet and will not raise blood sugar levels.
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With the approval, advantame can be used in baked goods, non-alcoholic beverages (including soft drinks), chewing gum, confections and frostings, frozen disserts, gelatins and puddings, jams and jellies, processed fruits and fruit juices, toppings, and syrups.

The FDA describes advantame as a “free-flowing, water soluble, white crystalline powder that is stable at even higher temperatures.” It is a chemical derivative of the artificial sweetener, aspartame, and should be avoided by people who cannot metabolize phenylalanine, one of the sweetener’s ingredients.

The product does not currently have a brand name.

–Pooja Shah

Reference:

FDA. FDA approves new high-intensity sweetener advantame. 2014 May 19. www.fda.gov/Food/NewsEvents/ConstituentUpdates/ucm397740.htm. Accessed May 23, 2014.