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As consumers' health awareness increases, sugar-free foods are favored. While the sugar substitute (sweetener) industry is facing opportunities, it is also accompanied by various controversies, such as concerns that "aspartame may cause cancer" and erythritol being linked to cardiovascular disease.

Food experts generally believe that sugar substitutes are the most widely studied and reviewedfood additivesAs one of the types of sugar substitutes, its safety has been verified in a long-term and in-depth practice. If manufacturers strictly abide by relevant laws and regulations and use sugar substitutes scientifically and prudently, food safety can be guaranteed.

Photo/IC photo

【dispute】

1. Does aspartame cause cancer?

event:In 2023, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), the World Health Organization (WHO), the Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations classified aspartame as a Class 2B carcinogen, causing consumers to question the safety of this sugar substitute.

Analysis:Chen Junshi, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, said that aspartame is a sugar substitute approved for use by the Codex Alimentarius Commission and many national and regional governments. The relevant reports of IARC and JECFA both believe that the evidence of aspartame's carcinogenicity is limited or insufficient. The intake of aspartame by Chinese residents is far lower than the daily allowable intake currently adopted internationally, and the health risk is very low. Consumers need to look at aspartame rationally and do not need to panic too much.

2. Does erythritol cause cardiovascular disease?

event:A paper published in the international academic journal Nature Medicine in 2023 pointed out that erythritol is associated with a high incidence of major cardiovascular diseases, leading to an increased risk of 80%-121%.

Analysis:Ruan Guangfeng, deputy director of the Kexin Food and Health Information Exchange Center, said that relevant experiments found a correlation between erythritol and cardiovascular disease, but could not confirm a causal relationship. The safety of sugar substitutes such as erythritol has been recognized by many international organizations, and China has implemented a strict pre-market approval system for food additives, including sugar substitutes. In 2007, the former Ministry of Health approved the use of erythritol in foods such as chewing gum, solid beverages, and formula milk. In December 2023, after re-evaluating the safety of erythritol as a food additive, the European Food Safety Authority concluded that erythritol is not toxic and has not been found to pose a disease risk.

3. Are natural sweeteners better than artificial sweeteners?

event:As consumers' health needs increase, natural sweeteners are favored, and some consumers believe that natural sweeteners are better than artificial sweeteners. A survey shows that consumers have a low acceptance of artificial sweeteners, for example, the acceptance of saccharin is only 7.04%.

Analysis:A popular science video released by the Kexin Food and Health Information Exchange Center in May this year shows that both artificial and natural sweeteners must undergo scientific and strict risk assessment. From the perspective of professional risk assessment standards, there is no essential difference between the two. Management departments and authoritative agencies in various countries also believe that the compliant use of sweeteners, including natural and synthetic ones, is safe.

4. Will eating sugar-free mooncakes cause diarrhea?

event:In September 2023, Zhihu's sugar-free mooncakes used maltitol instead of sucrose, which caused some people to be intolerant and have diarrhea, and topics related to sugar-free mooncakes became a hot search.

Analysis:Ruan Guangfeng wrote that maltitol is a sugar alcohol sweetener. my country's food additive standards allow the use of sugar alcohols such as maltitol, xylitol, and erythritol. These sugar alcohols are safe, and manufacturers can use them in moderation according to regulations. Eating too much sugar alcohol can cause diarrhea, especially for some people who are intolerant to sugar substitutes, but this is notFoodborne illnessGenerally speaking, the sweetness of most sugar substitutes is hundreds of times that of sucrose, and the dosage used will not be large, so diarrhea is less likely to occur.

【Popular Science】

1. Is sugar substitute safe?

Chen Junshi, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, pointed out that sugar substitutes are one of the most intensively studied food additives in the world, and their safety has been fully tested in practice. According to the Scientific Consensus on Food Sugar Substitutes (2022), my country, like other countries and regions, implements a strict pre-market approval system for food additives, including sugar substitutes. It is safe for food manufacturers to use sugar substitutes scientifically and reasonably in accordance with regulations.

2. Are sugar-free drinks really sugar-free?

Zhong Kai, director of the Kexin Food and Health Information Exchange Center, explained that beverages with a sugar content of less than or equal to 0.5g/100ml can be called sugar-free beverages. Common sugar-free beverages use sugar substitutes to replace sugar to provide sweetness, and sugar substitutes are high in sweetness and low in energy. In general, "sugar-free" only means that it does not contain sucrose, but it may contain other types of sugar.

3. How to distinguish between “sugar-free”, “zero sugar” and “low sugar”?

According to the requirements for energy and nutrient content claims in the National Food Safety Standard - General Rules for Nutrition Labelling of Pre-packaged Foods (GB 28050-2011), "low sugar" means that the sugar content per 100 grams or 100 milliliters of solid or liquid food is not higher than 5% (i.e. 5 grams); "sugar-free or sugar-free" means that the sugar content per 100 grams or 100 milliliters of solid or liquid food is not higher than 0.5% (i.e. 0.5 grams). Its synonyms may be "zero (0) sugar", "no sugar", "100% free of", "sugar-free" or "0% sugar".

Beijing News reporter Liu Huan

Editor: Guo Tie

Proofread by Liu Baoqing