Retailers and brands need to have a more honest debate about artificial sweeteners.
Encouraged and corralled by government, the industry has embarked on a well-intentioned rush to remove sugar from products. Yet the current industry consensus as to the ‘right’ sweeteners to use and the scientific evidence on the relative safety of sweeteners now look to be pointing in different directions.
Have we backed the wrong horse in terms of the right bulk sweetener to use?
Artificial sweeteners deliver the indulgent mouthfeel of sugar, with less calories. Aspartame has a chequered history, and many steer clear of using it because one of its metabolites is methanol (albeit in small quantities). In recent years, erythritol has been widely used as a sugar substitute thanks to its ease of use in recipes, low‑calorie profile, and gentle impact on teeth. It is framed by proponents as ‘natural’.
No smoking gun
In reality erythritol is often produced through industrial fermentation of corn, resulting in real-world doses way larger than would ever be present in natural or whole foods. The long-term health impact of these large doses is prompting concern.
A series of recent studies have raised new safety questions around blood clotting and potential impacts on cardiac and vascular health. Shoppers who are managing diabetes and obesity seem especially impacted by elevated blood erythritol – yet these groups are among those most interested in low & no-sugar products.
Studies are not 100% conclusive as of yet – there is no smoking gun. However, the safety case against erythritol’s use is building and renewed regulatory scrutiny feels near. In reality, we just don’t yet know the real-world risk of consuming large amounts of erythritol.
Allulose could be an alternative – a rare sugar occurring naturally in raisins, figs and maple syrup. It is almost as sweet as sugar, has a tenth of the calories and a low impact on blood sugar levels. But it is not a like-for-like swap. It doesn’t brown like sugar or bulk out products and needs more of a blended, multi-ingredient reformulation to deliver taste, mouthfeel and texture.
While allulose is more challenging to work with, it is potentially a very effective and elegant tool. The EFSA hasn’t cleared it yet and is seeking more data, but does not have any formal scientific or safety objections. In the US allulose has GRAS status (generally recognised as safe).
Sweet talk
Beyond allulose, there are upcoming sweeteners like isomalt, tagatose, and monk fruit. Product developers are pricking their ears up at this new class of neutral-tasting, low-calorie sweeteners. Elsewhere, brazzein is the poster child for a new class of sweet proteins all derived from fruit; precision-fermented, they trigger our sweet receptors and are digested like standard dietary protein.
Erythritol finds itself in an awkward spot: it’s an EFSA and FSA‑approved, widely used sweetener, yet it’s surrounded by a growing safety narrative that is increasingly resonating with nutritionally aware shoppers, particularly those seeking low‑sugar products.
Retailers should take a lead here. Based on the evolving science, there is enough evidence to exercise the precautionary principle on erythritol and start to phase it out of new formulations. In the fullness of time, perhaps we will all be glad they did.
Hamish Renton is CEO at HRA Global
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