Recent Advances in Sweeteners

Secretary-Treasurer Regional Directors

M. LeMaguer (U of Alberta) Budget, minutes, membership roster. J. Cross (POS, Saskatoon) M. Moo-Young (Univ. of Waterloo) N. J. Fairbairn (General Foods, Toronto). P. Jelen , FPE Group Chairman.

NATIONAL COMMITTEES Planning Committee The Planning Committee terms of reference are as follows: "To investigate and report to Council the operation of all National Committees, their relationship as expressed by the Organization Chart, and both short and long range plans for the Institute in accordance with Article IX, Section 10 of the By-Laws." In accordance with one of the standing motions of the Council, the members of the Planning Committee must be chosen from past executive officers. Traditionally, the National President appoints the Immediate past-President as t.he Chairman of the Planning Committee, and the Chairman invites 3 to 5 past executive members to serve on this committee. In addition to the normal activities of the Planning Committee, the National President may ask to conduct some specific assignments during their term of office. It is expected that a brief report be prepared and presented to the Mid-Term Executive meeting in January. The final report must be compiled and presented to the Pre-Conference Council meeting at the Annual Conference of the c'LF.S.T. ' V. W. Kadis

Nominating Committee In compliance with Article VI. Section I of the CIFST By-Laws, each year, on or before the first day of February, the Chairman of the Nominating Committee shall have canvassed each Section by writing the Secretary with a copy to the Chairman of the Section and shall have received, in writing, on or before the first day of March, the names of all candidates who the Section wishes to nominate for election to each office becoming vacant at the next Annual Meeting. In case no candidates are nominated by the Section. the Chairman of the Nominating Committee shall be advised of this fact in writing by the Section Secretary. Each nomination shall be accompanied by a biographical sketch of the candidate along with a signed statement by the candidate that he is willing to hold office if elected. The Immediate Past President usually is appointed to chair this Committee. However, if the Immediate Past President is not available, a member of the Council could be appointed by the President as Chairman of the Nominating Committee. Two additional members, chosen from the Council are usually appointed by the President to this Committee. As in the case of other National Committees, in addition to duties described above. the Nominating Committee may be asked by the National President to take some special assignments. The Nominating Committee prepares a report for the Mid-Year Executive meeting, and again for the Pre-Conference Council Meeting. V. W. Kadis

CONSUMER AND CORPORATE AFFAIRS REPORT ON RESEARCH STRATEGY Consumer and Corporate Affairs has recently released a report dealing with the need for information on the real performance levels of the food processing, distribution and retailing industry in Canada. The report, enIItled "An Integrated Research Strategy on the Food Processing, DistributIOn and Retailing Sectors," was prepared by Broadwith Hughes and ASsociates Ltd .. Guelph. Ont. The report cites several rea,ons for undertaking economic research on these sectors, including: concern by various government departments that the processing. distributing and retailing sectors are currently operatmg at inadequate levels of efficiency: lack of public confidence in the performance of these sectors; the fact that 40 per cent of the consumers' food dollar goes to the farmer while the remaining 60 per cent is absorbed beyond the farm gate. The performance of the three sectors has a major influence on the welfare of food producers and consumers; the size and relalIve economic influence of the food industry in the Canadian economv. The authors say further research is needed in the areas of industry performance and information, regulation, economic inter-relationships, Can. Inst. Food Sci. TcchnoL J. Vol. 12,1'\0. I, January' 1979

production and distribution capacity, trade policy for food products and food quality. The report is one of a series commissioned by the department's Food Policy Group as background for the federal government's food strategy and may be obtained from Consumer and Corporate Affairs, Ottawa. G. Timbers

SCITEC A UN conference, Science and Technology for Development, to be held in Vienna in August, 1979, has been devised as a mechanism to focus world attention on the special problems of the application of science and technology to the benefit of the developing countries. The conference will not be a scientific conference in the sense of an earlier UN conference held in 1963 entitled a "Conference on the Application of Science & Technology for the Benefit of the Less Developed Areas" which focussed on an interchange of scientific and technical information. UNCSTD will focus on the application of science and technolGgy to social, economic, institutional or political development and will particularly concern itself with the identification and means for removal of the difficulties that impede the application of science and technology in contributing to the development goals and priorities of the developing nations. The conference will be structured around five subject areas, viz: Food & Agriculture; Natural Resources including Energy; Health, Human Settlement & Environment; Transport, Communications and Industrialization. It is important that the preparations for UNCSTD receive some attention from the Canadian scientific, technical and social science community and that suggestions and ideas from individuals, groups and institutions from this community be sought and made available for consideration by the Government of Canada's delegation. It would be most desirable if a series of practical and pragmatic suggestions could be assembled which could comment on possible new initiatives that could stimulate more effective involvement of our Research & Development community. The Royal Society of Canada and SCITEC have been charged with calling for such an input and it is requested that comments and suggestions be sent to, SCITEC (UNCSTD) Suite 202, 151 Slater Street, Ottawa, KIP 5H3. Further information can also be obtained if required from the above address. R. Riel

RECENT ADVANCES IN SWEETENERS J. N. Clark Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd. Brampton, Ontario Editorial note: The following article was extracted from a presentalion made at the 21st Annual Conference of c'I.F.S.T., Edmonton, Alherta. June 25-28, 1978. M.AT. For more than twenty centuries man has used sweeteners to improve palatability, texture and preservation of his food. In a real sense sweeteners, salt and spices were the first food additives. Very little research was conducted during the first eighteen centuries and most of our knowledge of sweeteners has been derived in the past 100-150 years. Today, we have numerous commercially available sweeteners. nutritive and non-nutritive. natural and artificial, and many more are being investigated. Unfortunately in the past decade the governments of Canada and the U.S. have restricted the use of several of these sweeleners and in some cases forced the removal from the market of foods containing them. It hehooves the food technologist to review those sweeteners which arc permitted. including any new uses for them, and to examine some of the more promising sweeteners being developed. Sweeteners are generally classified as either carbohydrate, non-carbohydrate, natural or artificial. We are most familiar with the natural carbohydrate sweetener sucrose or the non-carbohydrate artificial sweetener saccharin. Aspartame, derived from two amino-acids, is an example of a natural non-carbohydrate sweetener. Natural implies the sweetener. carhohvdrate or non-carbohvdrate. is derived from matter of agricultural origin while artificial implies it is totally synthesized. Natura! does not preclude. however. substances which are synthesized yet are identical chemicallv to human metabolites. Of the natural carbohydrate sweeteners, only the monosaccharide hexoses and the disaccharides, of which sucrose is the most familiar. are generally used commercially. However, I would like to discuss briefly a new use for glucose/galactose/lactose syrup and renewed interest in crystalline fructose.

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Since the dairy industry is one of the largest segments of the North American food industry it is not surprising that a good deal of research centers around lactose. In fact, several papers have been presented during past conferences on this topic. Batelle-Geneva have patented a process to produce from lactose syrup a glucose/galactose/lactose syrup which was described in the March, 1978 issue of Food Engineering. You will recall that several years ago a milk-based soft drink was marketed in Canada and New Zealand. Unfortunately, shelf-life was a problem and the product was removed from the market by the manufacturers. Perhaps it could be reintroduced utilizing this new process or a fortified product could be developed for use in third world countries, where nutritious feeding of the young presents a tremendous challenge. Fructose is receiving considerable attention today as many products are being reformulated as a result of restrictions placed on artificial sweeteners. Pure crystalline fructose is derived from the hydrolysis of sucrose and extraction from the so-called invert sugar by chromatographic resins. It is generally considered the sweetest of all naturally occurring sugars as, under ideal conditions of temperature and pH, it has 1.8 times the sweetening value of sucrose. It is metabolized with limited insulin involvement. During times of low blood sugar levels it does not require insulin. It is metabolized via the fructose-I-phosphate route and is readily available for metabolic involvement culminating in its function within the Krebs cycle. During times of higher blood sugar levels, however, it is insulin dependent. It is metabolized via the fructose 1-6 diphosphate route and is stored in the liver where it is available for later metabolic functions via its conversion to fructose-6-phosphate. Even when it is insulin dependent. it is of particular interest as it is released slowly from the liver avoiding the peaks and valleys of blood sugar titers so familiar with either glucose or sucrose. In addition, fructose enhances several flavors, notably fruit, while masking other bitter flavor notes. For these reasons, crystalline fructose is considered an ideal sweetener for foods developed for diabetic or dietetic consumption, yet conforming to the regulations for these types of foods. Fructose also exhibits a fair degree of reduced cariogenicity as described by Scheinin and Makinen (Acta Odontologica Scandinavica 33: 70. 1975) and thus provides excellent opportunities for its use in confectionery products where it can provide both reduced calorific value and limited cariogenicity. Polyols such as sorbitol. mannitol and xylitol. derived from monosaccharides, have also been used for reduced calorie foods. Today sorbitol and mannitol are derived from the hydrolysis of sucrose, with extraction from the mother liquor in chromatographic resin columns and by hydrogenation. Of these two polyols, sorbitol has been more widely used in reduced calorie products, particularly confectionery products. Unfortunately. widespread usage has resulted in a fair incidence of osmotic diarrhea and its use is being restricted to a texturing agent rather than a sweetener. In the past 3 or 4 years the polyol xylitol has received considerable attention. Xylitol is derived by extracting xylan from wood fiber such as birch chips. followed by hydrolysis of xylan to xylose. extraction of the xylose by ion exchange resin and the hydrogenation of xylose to xylitol. Scheinin and Makinen conducted extensive studies where both fructose and xylitol completely replaced sucrose in the diet of selected candidates for a period of two years. Complete biochemical and dental examinations were conducted at 16 or more intervals during the test period. Subjects exhibited a 30% reduction in dental caries in the fructose group and 85900/,; in the xylitol group. Similar results were obtained in another trial where diet was not changed but the subjects chewed "sugarless" gum containing xylitol at a level of approximately 7g per day. Today dental associations in Scandinavia and Europe support a program of oral hygiene which recommends replacing conventional snacks with those containing xylitol. Good oral hygiene involving frequent brushing of the teeth and only snacks containing xylitol is providing excellent protection against the development of dental caries. In Canada, xylitol is permitted only in sugarless chewing gum. What about non-carbohydrate sweeteners~ Several non-carbohydrate sweeteners, both natural and artificial, exhibit intense sweetness. Two are presently permitted, several have been restricted, some have been discarded for the moment and others are at various stages of development. Both the ammonium and mono ammonium salts of glycyrrhizic acid are permitted for use in Canada and the U.S. Ammonium glycyrrhizin is on the GRAS list, and alone is 50 times as sweet as sucrose while combined with sucrose is 100 times as sweet as a conseq uence of synergism. It is completely soluble and stable up to \05°C but precipitates below pH 4.5 which limits its use in soft drinks. Ammonium glycyrrhizin possesses a lingering licorice flavor thus is particularly suited to maple. root beer,

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rum, walnut, butterscotch, chocolate, honey and pickle-spice flavors. Mono ammonium glycyrrhizin is the new modified form and is readily soluble with opalescence. It is stable over a wider pH range, does not add color or flavor but is available only in limited quantities as it is dependent upon dwindling supplies of licorice root. Considerable research is underway in the western U.S. to derive intensely sweet substances from citrus fruit. Naringin was first extracted from citrus peel and is quite bitter tasting. When alkalized it begins to exhibit sweetness and when further processed with isovanillin, neohesperidin and neohesperiden dihydrocha\cone are produced further increasing sweetness. Of these, the- most promising is neohesperidin dihydrocha\cone which is approximately 1500 times the sweetness of sucrose. Toxicity studies are now underway at the USDA regionallaboratories in Albany. California. It has not yet been submitted to either the Food and Drug Administration or the Health Protection Branch and is still probably a few years from the market. Several sweeteners, although they were promising, intensely sweet and widely used, have now been restricted or prohibited. In Canada, aspartame, cyclamate and saccharin are all prohibited as ingredients in foods. In the U.S., however, saccharin use is still permitted. It has been rumored that the Health Protection Branch. after examining new data, may relent restrictions somewhat for aspartame and cyclamate but to date there are no indications when this will occur or to what extent they will be permitted. On the other hand, additional data have confirmed the decision to revoke the use of saccharin and it is extremely unlikely that we will ever be able to use it as a food ingredient. Several exotic fruit have been used by natives of third world countries for over a hundred years. These fruits contain proteins which either exhibit intense sweetness or caused foods which are normally bitter or sour to appear sweet. Among these are miraculin from miracle fruit, monellin from serrendipity berries and thaumatin I and II from katemfe berries. Miraculin makes sour foods taste sweet but the FDA denied GRAS status in May, 1977 and the firm responsible for its development has reportedly ceased operations. There are no provisions for its use in Canada. Monellin is approximately 5000 times as sweet as sucrose but there are difficulties in cultivating sufficient berries to provide adequate extracts for investigation. Thaumatin I and 11 are approximately 1500 times as sweet as sucrose but development has been discontinued because of poor extract stability.

Summary It is clear, from this brief review, that the only sweeteners permitted and in plentiful supply are the natural carbohydrates. Intensely sweet substances may be approved for use and become freely available. but not for several years. Selection of the ideal sweetener will depend on the prime function it is expected to perform. For this reason it may be wise to consult technologists with either the sugar refineries or special sucrochemical companies when contemplating revised formulations.

CANADIAN FOOD LAW AS IT AFFECTS THE CONSUMER Gerald L. Gall Faculty of Law University of Alberta Edmonton, Alberta Editorial note: The following article was extracted from the text of a pres-

entation made at the 21st Annual Conference of C.LF.S.T., Edmonton, Alberta. June 25-28. 1978. MAT. My theme. how to bridge the communication gap between the consumer and food science industries, is an appropriate one given the climate of consumerism which prevails today. The consumer movement. if I may use that phrase, has permeated many institutions within our society and is a phenomenon which will, if it has not done so already, greatly affect the food science industries. Indeed, since the 1960's, members of society have looked upon themselves not only as mere consumers of goods and scrvices, but also. as persons entitled to certain rights attachable to the process through which goods and services are made available. This has been extendcd to consumers of medical services. i.e .. patient's rights: to consumers of educational services, i.e., children's rights and, indeed, to consumers of government services. In respect of the latter, we have seen the proliferation of the institution of the ombudsman to virtually every jurisdiction in this country. There is also a demand for freedom of information legislation at .I. Inst. Can, Sei. Tcehnol. Aliment. Vol. 12. No. I. Janvicr 1979