Artificial sugars in the beverage industry and its relationship with food security

Subject Areas : Journal of Food Safety and Processing

Bijan Khorshidpour Nobandengani ¹ , Zeinab Esmaili ² , Sara Abbasi Vardeh ³

1 - Assistant Professor, Department of Food Science and Industry, Faculty of Agriculture, Varamin Pishva Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran
2 - M Sc. student, Department of Food Science and Industry, Faculty of Agriculture, Varamin Pishva Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran
3 - M Sc. student, Department of Food Science and Industry, Faculty of Agriculture, Varamin Pishva Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran

Received: 2022-10-21 Accepted : 2023-06-05 Published : 2023-08-23

Keywords: Food Safety, : artificial sugars, beverages,

Abstract :

Diet drink is a common term to describe drinks that have been sweetened with non-nutritive or artificial sweeteners (ASB). Marketing strategies often imply that consumption of these drinks promises weight control or weight loss (1). High consumption of free sugars, especially through soft drinks, is a health concern on a global scale. Therefore, several measures, including taxation, were tentatively employed to reduce their consumption. However, the reduction of sugars in soft drinks has mostly come at the expense of adding non-nutritive sweeteners (NNS) (5). Demand for zero-calorie sweeteners and natural derivatives have increased dramatically over the past decade as consumers become more health conscious. For several decades, sweeteners have been used to make food palatable and attract consumers. (C) Poor diet is one of the main causes of non-communicable diseases. Due to the increasing prevalence of overweight and obesity, there is a lot of focus on dietary overconsumption and energy restriction. Many strategies focus on improving energy balance to achieve successful weight loss. One of the ways to reduce energy consumption is to refrain from consuming sugars and replace them with artificial sweeteners, which maintain the taste without consuming calories. However, the safety and health benefits of consuming artificial sweeteners are a matter of debate in the scientific community and society at large.