Frequently asked questions about Canderel's sweetening ingredients

Canderel uses a unique blend of ingredients, so it tastes just like sugar but without the calories.

The Canderel recipe is a blend of aspartame and acesulfame-K. Added to this is a small amount of Canderel's unique flavouring which enhances the sweetness and overall flavour of tea and coffee.

Canderel's main sweetening ingredient is aspartame, the components of which are found naturally in all protein-containing foods such as meat, dairy products, fruit and vegetables that we eat every day. Your body digests these components in exactly the same way as it would digest them from these other sources.

FAQs about Aspartame

1. ... What is aspartame?
2. ... Has aspartame been thoroughly tested?
3. ... What is the acceptable daily intake (ADI) of aspartame?
4. ... Can aspartame cause dental cavities or other dental problems?
5. ... Is aspartame safe for use by people suffering from phenylketonuria (PKU)?
6. ... Is aspartame recommended for use by diabetics?
7. ... Can aspartame cause allergic reactions?
8. ... Can products containing aspartame help you lose weight?
9. ... Is it true that aspartame can cause health problems in certain people, such as headaches and digestive disorders?
10. ... Is it true that using aspartame can cause hunger pangs, leading you ultimately to eat more?

FAQs about the other ingredients in Canderel

1. ... What is Acesulfame-K ?
2. ... What is Canderel's unique flavouring?

About Aspartame

1. ... What is aspartame ?
Aspartame is an intense sweetener which is approximately 200 times sweeter than sucrose (sugar). Aspartame is made by linking two amino acids (parts of protein) - aspartic acid and phenylalanine (as the methyl ester).

Like all proteins, aspartame contains 4 kcal per gram. Nevertheless, given its powerful sweetness, it may be used in very small quantities and therefore adds almost no calories to the foods in which it is used.

Aspartame is separated into its component parts, aspartic acid, phenylalanine and methanol, in the gastro-intestinal tract. These components are subsequently absorbed by the body and used in the same way as those derived from other foods which contain proteins.

2. ... Has aspartame been thoroughly tested?
Yes aspartame is safe. Aspartame has been used to sweeten food and drinks for more than 25 years and is one of the most thoroughly tested ingredients in our food supply.

More than 200 objective scientific studies have confirmed that aspartame is safe. These studies have been reviewed by regulatory authorities throughout the world including the EFSA - European Food Standards Agency and the FSA - UK Food Standards Agency, all of which have approved aspartame for use in food and drinks. In fact, the health and regulatory authorities of more than 130 countries have approved aspartame.

Aspartame is safe for the general population, including children and pregnant women.

(Note: people with the rare inherited disorder Phenylketonuria (PKU) should be aware that aspartame contains phenylalanine - see question 5).

3. ... What is the acceptable daily intake (ADI) of aspartame?
Aspartame, the sweetening ingredient in Canderel, does have an ADI. The Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI) represents the safe daily consumption level of an ingredient over a person's lifetime. The ADI for aspartame, set by the EU Scientific Committee for Food, is 40mg/per kg of body/day. This is the highest value set for any intense sweetening ingredient approved in the EU.

The ADI applies to all sectors of the population. The only exception is for people with the rare disorder phenylketonuria (PKU).

It is highly unlikely that anyone could consume more than this level in a day.  You could consume 90 Canderel tablets (based on a person weighing 60kg) per day or 110 teaspoons of granular Canderel every day, for life and still be below what is considered a safe intake by the EU Scientific Committee for Food.

4. ... Can aspartame cause dental cavities or other dental problems?
No. Aspartame does not predispose you to dental caries. A number of tests have confirmed the non-cariogenic properties of aspartame. While some products made with aspartame may also contain other substances that do encourage dental decay, Canderel does not contain such substances, and does not promote tooth decay.

5. ... Is aspartame safe for use by people suffering from phenylketonuria (PKU)?
Phenylalanine is an essential amino acid which occurs in many foods including all proteins, like meat and fish, and particularly dairy products.

A small number of people suffer from a disorder known as Phenylketonuria (PKU), a rare congenital disease in which one of the enzymes, used by the body to metabolise phenylalanine, is defective resulting in an inability to metabolise phenylalanine from any source. While the amino acid is essential for their development, people who suffer from PKU need to carefully monitor and control their intake of phenylalanine from whatever source and on a continuous basis. In many countries, routine screening for PKU takes place at birth. It is not possible to have PKU and not be aware of the fact.

Since Canderel contains phenylalanine, it carries the phenylalanine information panel so that anyone with PKU is aware of the presence of the amino acid.

6. ... Is aspartame recommended for use by diabetics?
Yes. Thanks to aspartame, diabetics now find a much wider range of food and drinks available to them, making it easier to follow dietary restrictions while still enjoying great tasting food.

Diabetic Associations around the world recommend aspartame for use as a sweetener in diabetic diets. Elsewhere, experts agree that aspartame has no effect on either the glucose or insulin levels.

7. ... Can aspartame cause allergic reactions?
Aspartame, the sweetening ingredient in Canderel, brings nothing new to the diet. It is broken down into its constituent parts, which occur widely in other foods such as meat, fish, eggs and fruit and which are part of a normal diet.

In fact, research has been carried out for aspartame, to assess the potential to cause allergic-type reactions in individuals who were convinced they had experienced such reactions. The results of this study demonstrated that aspartame was no more likely than a placebo to cause allergic-type reactions.

In another study of people who believed themselves allergic to aspartame, not one had a reproducible reaction after consuming aspartame.

8. ... Can products containing aspartame help you lose weight?
Yes. Products containing aspartame allow you to enjoy the sweet taste at the same time as reducing your calorie intake*.

By replacing simple carbohydrates, products containing aspartame enable you to rebalance your diet with foods like fruit, vegetables, dairy products and cereals. In order for it to be effective within the framework of a slimming diet, as it has been shown by Dr Blackburn* and in the studies carried out by Tordoff and Aleva*, products containing aspartame should be used together with a dietary programme aimed at a genuine reduction in calorie intake.

9. ... Is it true that aspartame can cause health problems in certain individuals, such as headaches and digestive disorders?
No. Scientific studies confirm that there is no connection whatsoever between symptoms such as these and the use of aspartame. With more than 250 million regular consumers of aspartame worldwide, it is inevitable that some of them will suffer from health problems while using products containing aspartame. The fact that these things happen to coincide does not establish a cause and effect relationship between the symptoms and the use of aspartame.

Reports suggesting that aspartame could be the cause of health problems have appeared in newspapers and other media. These are sometimes based on anecdotal evidence from individuals who noted certain symptoms and attributed them to the use of products containing aspartame. None of these reports have been confirmed by controlled scientific investigations.

With respect to headaches specifically, a great many things are known to cause them. It is dangerous to assume that a headache is due to the consumption of aspartame, since the real cause may be a serious psychological or physical disorder. In the course of a study, researchers at Duke University examined several individuals who were convinced that aspartame was the cause of their headaches.
The results of a random double blind test with placebos showed no difference between headaches experienced after consuming aspartame and those that followed the taking of the placebo. In fact, 35% of those tested with aspartame claimed to have experienced headaches after its use, against 45% of those who were given a placebo.

10. ... Is it true that using aspartame can cause hunger pangs, leading you ultimately to eat more?
No, aspartame does not increase appetite, just as it does not lead to weight increase! It can, when used in a balanced, calorie-controlled diet, actually help in weight loss. In a synopsis of 45 studies made on this subject by the international scientific community, Dr Barbara Rolls, considered to be the world specialist on nutritional behaviour-patterns today, states that:

"Aspartame does not increase the intake of food; short and long-term studies have demonstrated that the consumption of food or drinks sweetened with aspartame produces either no change, or a reduction, in food intake."

Dr Barbara Rolls concluded that aspartame can play a useful role in a diet and exercise programme, and also in helping to maintain weight. There has never been any foundation to the notion that aspartame causes you to gain weight.

For further information on Aspartame press, please use the following link:
http://www.aboutaspartame.com/professional/index.asp..

About the other ingredients in Canderel

1. ... What is Acesulfame-K?
Acesulfame potassium (also known as acesulfame-K or ace-K) was discovered in 1967. Acesulfame K (Ace-K) is an intense sweetener used in Canderel. Ace-K is a white, odourless powder that is approximately 200 times sweeter than sucrose (sugar). It is a high-intensity non caloric sweetener. It is not metabolized by the body and is excreted unchanged.

Acesulfame-K has a clean, quickly perceptible, sweet taste that does not linger.

Acesulfame-K is the ideal component for blending as it has synergies with many other sweeteners. Its main advantage being a quick and high sweetness intensity.

Acesulfame potassium's safety is supported by more than 90 studies conducted over 15 years. Like all other high intensity sweeteners, it has been approved in more than 100 countries.

The Scientific Committee on Food of the E.U. has set up an acceptable daily intake (ADI) for acesulfame-K of 9mg/kg of body weight/day
 
2. ... What is Canderel's unique flavouring?
The added flavour is a substance naturally existing in baked goods, roasted cereals and some fermented drinks. It is known to enhance the sweetness and natural flavours of coffees, teas, etc.

Canderel has selected very carefully the optimal amount to be added in order to enhance the natural taste and flavour of the food/drink without changing its identity.

This flavouring naturally exists in cocoa and coffee.

It can be safely used in food products like all other food flavours.

The specific ingredients used in making Canderel are a trade secret that we are not at liberty to divulge.