Assugrin

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Packets of Assugrin, a brand of cyclamate sugar substitute. Assugrin f3453504.jpg
Packets of Assugrin, a brand of cyclamate sugar substitute.

Assugrin is a brand name for a sugar substitute that is a blend of cyclamate and saccharin. [1] Produced in Switzerland by MCM Klosterfrau Vertriebsgesellschaft, [2] Assugrin was the main table sweetener in West Germany. [3]

Sugar substitute Food additive

A sugar substitute is a food additive that provides a sweet taste like that of sugar while containing significantly less food energy than sugar-based sweeteners, making it a zero-calorie or low-calorie sweetener. Artificial sweeteners may be derived through manufacturing of plant extracts or processed by chemical synthesis. As of 2018, there is no strong evidence that non-sugar sweeteners are unsafe or result in improved health outcomes.

Saccharin chemical compound

Sodium saccharin is an artificial sweetener with effectively no food energy. It is about 300–400 times as sweet as sucrose but has a bitter or metallic aftertaste, especially at high concentrations. Saccharin is used to sweeten products such as drinks, candies, cookies, and medicines.

Switzerland federal republic in Western Europe

Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a country situated in western, central and southern Europe. It consists of 26 cantons, and the city of Bern is the seat of the federal authorities. The sovereign state is a federal republic bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland is a landlocked country geographically divided between the Alps, the Swiss Plateau and the Jura, spanning a total area of 41,285 km2 (15,940 sq mi). While the Alps occupy the greater part of the territory, the Swiss population of approximately 8.5 million people is concentrated mostly on the plateau, where the largest cities are to be found: among them are the two global cities and economic centres Zürich and Geneva.

Contents

History

Cyclamate sugar substitute was discovered in 1937 by two American chemists and tested over the subsequent twenty years. After cyclamate was declared safe for consumption in the mid-1950s, the Hermes Company announced their new product, Assugrin, in 1954. [4] Almost a decade later, in 1965, Hermes company came up with a mixture of saccharin and cyclamate. It was later introduced to the market under Assugrin brand with wide endorsements. In that same year, aspartame was discovered. Aspartame was introduced into the Assugrin brand as Assugrin Gold.

Aspartame chemical compound

Aspartame (APM) is an artificial non-saccharide sweetener used as a sugar substitute in some foods and beverages. In the European Union, it is codified as E951. Aspartame is a methyl ester of the aspartic acid/phenylalanine dipeptide.

In 1987, orange and lemon varieties were added to the West German low-calorie soft drink Assugrin Exquisit. [5] In 1990, Albi launched Assugrin Aktiv (Iso-Mineral-Fitness-Drink), a reduced calorie sports drink. [6] Hermes Sweeteners Ltd introduced Assugrin Light blended sweetener as a special diet food in 1995. [7]

Sports drinks are beverages whose stated purpose is to help athletes replace water, electrolytes, and energy before and after training or competition, though their efficiency for that purpose has been questioned, particularly after exercise.

In 2002, the Assugrin brand was introduced to consumers in Brazil through a new dietetic sweetener made with saccharin, water, artificial sweeteners, and sodium cyclamate. [8]

Brazil Federal republic in South America

Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At 8.5 million square kilometers and with over 208 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area and the fifth most populous. Brazil borders every South American country except Chile and Ecuador. Its capital is Brasília, and its most populated city is São Paulo. The federation is composed of the union of the 26 states, the Federal District, and the 5,570 municipalities. It is the largest country to have Portuguese as an official language and the only one in the Americas; it is also one of the most multicultural and ethnically diverse nations, due to over a century of mass immigration from around the world.

In 2003, Swiss sweeteners producer Hermes Edulcorants, headquartered in Zürich, generated 67 million Swiss francs ($53.2 million/€44.4 million) for 2003. [4] Their most popular brand, the Assugrin sweetener, was being sold in some 100 countries, but mainly in Switzerland, Germany, and Austria. [4] Assugrin additionally has a significant presence in the Spain and Brazil sweetener market. [4]

Zürich Place in Switzerland

Zürich or Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zürich. It is located in north-central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zürich. The municipality has approximately 409,000 inhabitants, the urban agglomeration 1.315 million and the Zürich metropolitan area 1.83 million. Zürich is a hub for railways, roads, and air traffic. Both Zürich Airport and railway station are the largest and busiest in the country.

In 2007, Global Industry Analysts issued a report entitled, "Artificial Sweeteners". [9] [10] The report analyzed the worldwide markets for artificial sweeteners in US$ Million and profiled the 108 companies serving that market, and ranked the products manufactured by those companies. [9]

Related Research Articles

Sucralose chemical compound

Sucralose is an artificial sweetener and sugar substitute. The majority of ingested sucralose is not broken down by the body, so it is noncaloric. In the European Union, it is also known under the E number E955. It is produced by chlorination of sucrose. Sucralose is about 320 to 1,000 times sweeter than sucrose, three times as sweet as both aspartame and acesulfame potassium, and twice as sweet as sodium saccharin. Evidence of benefit is lacking for long-term weight loss with some data supporting weight gain and heart disease risks.

7 Up Sweet carbonated drink

7 Up is a brand of lemon-lime-flavored non-caffeinated soft drink. The rights to the brand are held by Keurig Dr Pepper in the United States and by PepsiCo in the rest of the world. The U.S. version of the 7 Up logo includes a red circle between the "7" and "Up"; this red circle has been animated and used as a mascot for the brand as Cool Spot.

Diet Coke brand of diet cola

Diet Coke is a sugar-free and no-calorie soft drink produced and distributed by The Coca-Cola Company. It contains artificial sweeteners instead of sugar. Unveiled on July 8, 1982 and introduced in the United States on August 9, it was the first new brand since 1886 to use the Coca-Cola trademark. The product quickly overtook the company's existing diet cola, Tab, in sales.

Sodium cyclamate chemical compound

Sodium cyclamate is an artificial sweetener. It is 30–50 times sweeter than sucrose, making it the least potent of the commercially used artificial sweeteners. It is often used with other artificial sweeteners, especially saccharin; the mixture of 10 parts cyclamate to 1 part saccharin is common and masks the off-tastes of both sweeteners. It is less expensive than most sweeteners, including sucralose, and is stable under heating. Safety concerns have led to cyclamates being banned in the United States and other countries, though the European Union recognizes them as safe.

Squash (drink) non-alcoholic concentrated syrup

Squash, in British English, is a non-alcoholic concentrated syrup used in beverage making. It is usually fruit-flavoured, made from fruit juice, water, and sugar or a sugar substitute. Modern squashes may also contain food colouring and additional flavouring. Some traditional squashes contain herbal extracts, most notably elderflower and ginger.

Neohesperidin dihydrochalcone chemical compound

Neohesperidin dihydrochalcone, sometimes abbreviated to neohesperidin DC or simply NHDC, is an artificial sweetener derived from citrus.

Acesulfame potassium chemical compound

Acesulfame potassium, also known as acesulfame K or Ace K, is a calorie-free sugar substitute often marketed under the trade names Sunett and Sweet One. In the European Union, it is known under the E number E950. It was discovered accidentally in 1967 by German chemist Karl Clauss at Hoechst AG. In chemical structure, acesulfame potassium is the potassium salt of 6-methyl-1,2,3-oxathiazine-4(3H)-one 2,2-dioxide. It is a white crystalline powder with molecular formula C
4
H
4
KNO
4
S
and a molecular weight of 201.24 g/mol.

Dietdrinks are sugar-free, artificially sweetened versions of fizzy beverages with virtually no calories. They are generally marketed toward health-conscious people, diabetics, athletes, and other people who want to lose weight, improve physical fitness, or reduce their sugar intake. However, studies show that the marketed effectiveness of diet soft drinks is questionable.

Tab (drink) soft drink

Tab is a diet cola soft drink produced by The Coca-Cola Company, introduced in 1963. Coca-Cola's first diet drink, Tab was notably popular throughout the 1960s and 1970s, and several variations were made, including a number of fruit-flavored, root beer, and ginger ale versions. Caffeine-free and clear variations were released in the late-1980s and early-1990s.

Diet Rite

Diet Rite is a brand of no-calorie soft drinks originally distributed by the RC Cola company.

Fresca branded diet citrus soft drink

Fresca is a diet grapefruit citrus soft drink made by The Coca-Cola Company. Borrowing the word Fresca from Spanish, it was first introduced in the United States in 1966.

Pepsi Max

Pepsi Max is a low-calorie, sugar-free cola, marketed by PepsiCo as an alternative to their drinks Pepsi and Diet Pepsi. It is sold primarily in European and Asian markets.

Sweetn Low

Sweet'n Low is a brand of artificial sweetener made primarily from granulated saccharin. It also contains dextrose and cream of tartar, and is distributed primarily in packets. There have been over 500 billion Sweet'N Low packets produced.

Diet Pepsi diet cola

Diet Pepsi is a no-calorie carbonated cola soft drink produced by PepsiCo, introduced in 1964 as a variant of Pepsi with no sugar. First test marketed in 1963 under the name Patio Diet Cola, it was re-branded as Diet Pepsi the following year, becoming the first diet cola to be distributed on a national scale in the United States. In the 1960s and 1970s its competition consisted of Tab, produced by The Coca-Cola Company, and Diet Rite soda, produced by Royal Crown. Diet Coke was a later entrant to the diet cola market; though shortly after entering production in 1982 it became the primary competing diet cola to Diet Pepsi.

Fruit2O, formerly manufactured by Kraft, is a lightly flavored, non-carbonated water beverage introduced in 1999. Fruit2o was introduced to compete not only with the bottled water market but also with the soft drink market. Sunny Delight Beverages purchased the Veryfine Products line from Kraft in 2007.

Pepsi Next

Pepsi Next was a cola-flavored carbonated soft drink produced by PepsiCo. It was a variant of the Pepsi cola range.

A drink mix, or powdered drink mix is a processed-food product, a powder designed to mix usually with water to produce a beverage resembling fruit juice or soda in flavor. Another type of drink mix is represented by products that must be mixed into milk.

References

  1. Gorman's New Product News. (May 11, 1992) West Germany. (new food products from different firms) (The Deluge Pours On) (Product Announcement) Volume 28; Issue 4; Page 53
  2. Frost & Sullivan. (May 5, 1997) Euro Special & Dietetic Foods - Hermes Susstoff AG
  3. Lebensmittel Praxis. (April 7, 1989) W. Germany - Market for table sweeteners static. Page 46.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Swiss Business Digest. (June 18, 2004) Swiss Hermes Edulcorants 2003 Turnover at 44.4 Mln Euro.
  5. European New Product Report. (October 2, 1987) New flavours for Assugrin Exquisit. W. German - New flavours for Assugrin Exquisit. Page 35.
  6. Lebensmittel Praxis. (April 6, 1990) W Germany - Albi launches fitness drink. Page 74.
  7. International Product Alert. (May 3, 1995) Assugrin Light Blended Sweetener.
  8. International Product Alert (November 4, 2002) Assugrin Adocante Dietetico Volume 19; Issue 21.
  9. 1 2 Business Wire (September 27, 2007) The Worldwide Artificial Sweeteners Market - Aspartame, Acesulfame Potassium, Saccharin and Sucralose.
  10. See Global Industry Analysts, Inc. (July 2007) Artificial Sweeteners Archived December 29, 2008, at the Wayback Machine .