Our Range of Encapsulated Sweeteners

At TasteTech, we offer both natural and artificial sweeteners, as well as blends, to help you recreate the taste of sugar, no matter the application.

Why Reduce Sugar?

Many of us enjoy a sweet treat, but too much sugar can cause lasting damage to our health. According to the NHS, obesity is one major health concern linked to sugar intake, which can in turn cause heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and some cancers. High sugar intake can also cause tooth decay.

In October 2022, the UK government introduced promotional restrictions on products deemed high in fat, sugar, or salt (HFSS). Many manufacturers responded to this by reformulating their products to include lower levels of fat, sugar, and salt, so that their promotional activities would not be affected.

What are Intensive Sweeteners?

Intensive sweeteners are ingredients that add sweetness to foods, reducing the need for sugar. They are much sweeter than sugar, meaning less is needed to get the same effect. This means less calories in the end product.

Some people have concerns about the safety of sweeteners. However, all sweeteners are subjected to rigorous testing before they can be used in food and drink products in the UK. There are also laws to govern the amount that can be used and in which products.

On the subject of sweeteners, Cancer Research UK states that “there is no convincing evidence that artificial sweeteners, like aspartame, cause cancer” and that “your overall diet is more important for reducing your cancer risk than any individual ingredient or food.”

TasteTech’s Encapsulated Sweeteners

Our encapsulated sweeteners offer a range of benefits across the food and drink industry – but especially in chewing gum. A major issue when using sweeteners in sugar-free chewing gum is that the flavour and sweetness fade too quickly. Encapsulation provides a more sustained release, meaning a longer-lasting experience for consumers.

Acesulfame K

Acesulfame Potassium (often referred to as Acesulfame K or Ace K) is an artificial sweetener. It was discovered by accident in 1967 by Russian chemist Karl Clauss, who was trying to create a similar compound.

Ace K is 200 sweeter than sugar and has a clean taste. It provides a strong initial burst of sweetness, making it perfect for applications such as sugar-free drinks, confectionery, and desserts.

However, this sweetness dissipates quickly due to Ace K’s high solubility in water. In chewing gum, we would recommend blending it with another, longer-lasting sweeteners.

Aspartame

Aspartame is derived from 2 naturally occurring amino acids. Products containing aspartame are required to carry a phenylalanine warning. This amino acid can cause serious problems to people with a rare genetic condition called phenylketonuria (PKU). However, it is completely safe for most people.

200 times sweeter than sugar, aspartame offers long lasting sweetness, and pairs perfectly with Ace-K’s initial burst in chewing gum. However, it does have low stability, but encapsulation is a good solution for this.

Recently, the WHO released its assessment of aspartame’s safety. They ruled that it is “possibly carcinogenic” as the evidence is limited. It’s difficult to deduce in long-term studies what they specific cause of cancer is.

The Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives (JEFRA) states that aspartame is safe up to a daily limit of 40mg per kg of body weight. This works out to more than 10 cans of diet soft drink per day for the average adult.

You can read the full WHO report here.

Stevia

Naturally derived from the stevia plant, this sweetener is 250-300 times sweeter than sugar, with no calories or carbohydrates.

Stevia was sound like a perfect alternative to sugar, but its flavour profile is slightly different. And when it comes to sweet treats, flavour comes first.

In higher dosages, it can have a bitter note similar to liquorice. Some people find that stevia tastes like menthol.

Sucralose

Sucralose is made from sugar, so it tastes very similar, but has none of the calories. It is a whopping 600 times sweeter than sugar, so much less is required to achieve the same effect.

With a long-lasting sweetness, sucralose blends well with Ace-K – the latter providing an initial burst of sweetness and the former extending the chew time, especially when encapsulated.

Sucralose is useful for masking bitter flavours of some functional ingredients, making it a good choice for nutritional applications such as protein powders.