Aspartame is an artificial non-saccharide sweetener 200 times sweeter than sucrose and is commonly used as a sugar substitute in foods and beverages. It is a methyl ester of the aspartic acid/phenylalanine dipeptide with brand names NutraSweet, Equal, and Canderel. Aspartame was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1974, and then again in 1981, after approval was revoked in 1980.
Sucralose is an artificial sweetener and sugar substitute. As the majority of ingested sucralose is not metabolized by the body, it adds no calories. In the European Union, it is also known under the E number E955. It is produced by chlorination of sucrose, selectively replacing three of the hydroxy groups—in the C1 and C6 positions of fructose and the C4 position of glucose—to give a 1,6-dichloro-1,6-dideoxyfructose–4-chloro-4-deoxygalactose disaccharide. 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.
A sugar substitute is a food additive that provides a sweetness 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. Sugar substitute products are commercially available in various forms, such as small pills, powders, and packets.
Diet Coke is a sugar-free and low-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 one month later, it was the first new brand since Coca-Cola's creation in 1886 to use the Coca-Cola trademark. The product quickly overtook the company's existing diet cola, Tab, in sales.
Neohesperidin dihydrochalcone, sometimes abbreviated to neohesperidin DC or simply NHDC, is an artificial sweetener derived from citrus.
Acesulfame potassium, also known as acesulfame K or Ace K, is a synthetic 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
4H
4KNO
4S and a molecular weight of 201.24 g/mol.
Pepsi One, corporately styled PEPSI ONE, was a sugar-free cola, marketed by PepsiCo in the United States as an alternative to regular Pepsi and Diet Pepsi.
Doublemint is a variety of chewing gum made by the Wrigley Company; according to early advertisements, it is "double strength" peppermint flavored. It was launched in the United States in 1914, and has had variable market share since then.
Juicy Fruit is an American brand of chewing gum made by the Wrigley Company, a U.S. company that since 2008 has been a subsidiary of the privately held Mars, Incorporated. It was introduced in 1893, and in the 21st century the brand name is recognized by 99 percent of Americans, with total sales in 2002 of 153 million units.
Diet or light beverages are generally sugar-free, artificially sweetened beverages with few or no calories. They are marketed for diabetics and other people who want to reduce their sugar and/or caloric intake.
Diet Rite is an American brand of no-calorie soft drinks that was originally distributed by the RC Cola company.
Coca-Cola C2 was a cola-flavored beverage introduced by The Coca-Cola Company first in Japan, then later on June 7, 2004 in the United States, in response to the low-carbohydrate diet trend. This Coke product was marketed as having half the carbohydrates, sugars and calories compared to standard Coca-Cola. It contained aspartame, acesulfame potassium, and sucralose in addition to the high fructose corn syrup typically found in cola beverages distributed in America.
Diet Pepsi is a diet 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 the Coca-Cola Company's subsequently discontinued Tab. The United States represents the largest single market for Diet Pepsi.
Alitame is an aspartic acid-containing dipeptide sweetener. It was developed by Pfizer in the early 1980s and currently marketed in some countries under the brand name Aclame. Most dipeptides are not sweet, but the unexpected discovery of aspartame in 1965 led to a search for similar compounds that shared its sweetness. Alitame is one such second-generation dipeptide sweetener. Neotame, developed by the owners of the NutraSweet brand, is another.
Lactisole is the sodium salt and commonly supplied form of 2-(4-methoxyphenoxy)propionic acid, a natural carboxylic acid found in roasted coffee beans. Like gymnemic acid, it has the property of masking sweet flavors and is used for this purpose in the food industry.
Equal is an American brand of artificial sweetener containing aspartame, acesulfame potassium, dextrose and maltodextrin. It is marketed as a tabletop sweetener by Merisant, a global corporation which also previously owned the well-known NutraSweet brand when it was a subsidiary of Monsanto and which has headquarters in Chicago, Illinois, Switzerland, Mexico, and Singapore. In French Canada, Equal is known as "Égal".
Canderel is a brand of artificial sweetener made mainly from aspartame. Canderel is marketed by The Merisant Company, a global corporation with headquarters in Chicago, Illinois, also Switzerland, Mexico, United Kingdom, and Australia.
Cumberland Packing Corporation is a privately owned company located at 2 Cumberland Street, in Brooklyn, New York City. It was founded in 1945 by Benjamin Eisenstadt and is best known as the manufacturer, distributor, and marketer of Sweet'n Low, the saccharin-based zero-calorie sweetener sold in pink packets.
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 is a discontinued cola-flavored carbonated soft drink produced by PepsiCo. It was a variant of the Pepsi cola range.
