Chemical structure of Acesulfame potassium

Acesulfame potassium is a calorie-free artificial sweetener, also known as Acesulfame K or Ace K, and marketed under the trade names Sunett and Sweet One. In the European Union it is also known under the E number (additive code) E950. It was discovered accidentally in 1967 by German chemist Karl Clauss at Hoechst AG (now Nutrinova).^[1] Chemically, acesulfame potassium is the potassium salt of 6-methyl-1,2,3- oxathiazine-4(3H)-one 2,2-dioxide. It is white crystalline powder with molecular formula of C₄H₄KNO₄S and molecular weight of 201.24.^[2] Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... A calorie is a unit of measurement for energy. ... A sweetener is a food additive which adds the basic taste of sweetness to a food. ... For the mathematical constant see: E (mathematical constant). ... 1967 (MCMLXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar (the link is to a full 1967 calendar). ... Hoechst AG was a German life-sciences company that became Aventis after its merger with Rhône-Poulenc S.A. in 1999. ... Nutrinova is a global manufacturer of food constituents. ...

Acesulfame K is 180-200 times sweeter than sucrose (table sugar), as sweet as aspartame, about half as sweet as saccharin, and one-quarter the sweetness of sucralose. Like saccharin, it has a slightly bitter aftertaste, especially at high concentrations. Kraft Foods has patented the use of sodium ferulate to mask acesulfame's aftertaste. Alternatively, acesulfame K is often blended with aspartame or other sweeteners. These blends are reputed to give a more sugar-like taste where each sweetener masks the other's aftertaste, and to exhibit a synergistic effect wherein the blend is sweeter than its components. Sucrose (common name: table sugar, also called saccharose) is a disaccharide (glucose + fructose) with the molecular formula C12H22O11. ... Aspartame (IPA: ) is the name for an artificial, non-carbohydrate sweetener, aspartyl-phenylalanine-1-methyl ester; i. ... The skeletal formula of saccharin Saccharin is the oldest artificial sweetener; it was discovered in 1879 by Ira Remsen and Constantin Fahlberg of Johns Hopkins University. ... Sucralose is an artificial sweetener known by the trade name Splenda and Altern. ... Aftertaste is the persistence of a sensation of flavor after the stimulating substance has passed out of contact with the sensory end organs for taste. ... Kraft Foods Inc. ... Sodium ferulate (SF, or 3-methoxy-4-hydroxy-cinnamate) is a drug used in traditional Chinese medicine for treatment of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases and to prevent thrombosis. ... Synergy or synergism (from the Greek synergos, συνεργός meaning working together, circa 1660) refers to the phenomenon in which two or more discrete influences or agents acting together create an effect greater than that predicted by knowing only the separate effects of the individual agents. ...

Unlike aspartame, acesulfame K is stable under heat, even under moderately acidic or basic conditions, allowing it to be used in baking, or in products that require a long shelf life.

Popular products containing acesulfame K include Diet Rite Cola, Fruit Shoot, Pepsi Max, Coca-Cola Zero, Fresca, Diet Coke with Splenda, Sprite Zero, Powerade, Trident gum, Wrigley's Spearmint gum, some SoBe products, XS Energy Drink, Propel Fitness Water, Bundaberg Diet Ginger Beer, Sugarfree Red Bull, Diet Lipton Green Tea with Citrus, Diet Arizona Energy Drinks, Danone Silhouette spring water-based beverage, Presidents Choice "PC 0 Cola", Nestle Pure Life Natural Fruit Flavored Water Beverages, sugarfree Jell-O, Monster Energy low carb, Equal table sweetener, Starbucks doubleshot LIGHT Espresso & Cream, and Girl Scouts Sugar Free Little Brownies. In carbonated drinks it is almost always used in conjunction with another sweetener, such as aspartame or sucralose. Diet Rite is the brand name of a line of diet sodas distributed by the R.C. Cola company (now part of Dr. Pepper & Seven-Up, Inc. ... Robinsons Fruit Shoot is a juice drink marketed to children and produced by Britvic drinks and sold in the United Kingdom. ... Pepsi Max is a low-calorie, sugar-free cola sweetened with aspartame, marketed by PepsiCo as an alternative to regular Pepsi and Diet Pepsi. ... Coca-Cola Zero or Coke Zero is a product of the Coca-Cola Company. ... The artwork on this aluminum can of Fresca hints at its grapefruit taste. ... Bottle of Sprite Zero. ... POWERade logo Powerade (or POWERADE, as stylized on logos) is a sports drink by The Coca-Cola Company and currently number two in the sports drink market worldwide. ... Trident cum is a brand of sugarless chewing cum popular in the United States, Canada, Brazil and Mexico. ... Wrigleys Spearmint is a brand of Wrigleys chewing gum. ... SoBe (1996) is a drink brand of teas, elixirs, and energy drinks produced and distributed by PepsiCo. ... XS Energy Drink is an energy drink manufactured by California-based company Logic Nutrition. ... A glassful and a bottle of Bundaberg Root Beer Bundaberg Brewed Drinks Pty Ltd is an Australian-based soft drinks manufacturer, located in Bundaberg, Queensland. ... This article includes a list of works cited but its sources remain unclear because it lacks in-text citations. ... Lipton is the worlds best-known and best-selling brand of both hot leaf and ready-to-drink tea[]. It forms part of the Unilever portfolio which sells around 15. ... A sweetener is a food additive which adds the basic taste of sweetness to a food. ... Jell-O is a brand name belonging to USA-based Kraft Foods for a number of gelatin desserts, including fruit gels, puddings and no-bake cream pies. ... EQUAL is a popular brand of artificial sweetener made mainly from aspartame. ... Starbucks is the worlds largest chain of coffee shops. ... The Girl Scouts of the United States of America is a youth organization for girls in the United States based on the Scouting principles developed by Robert Baden-Powell. ... Bubbles of carbon dioxide float to the surface of a carbonated soft drink. ... Aspartame (IPA: ) is the name for an artificial, non-carbohydrate sweetener, aspartyl-phenylalanine-1-methyl ester; i. ... Sucralose is an artificial sweetener known by the trade name Splenda and Altern. ...

As with sucralose, aspartame, stevia, saccharine, and other sweeteners that are sweeter than common sugars, there is concern over the safety of acesulfame potassium. The United States has approved these for use as general purpose sweetening agents, with the exception of stevia which is restricted to special products like bodybuilding protein mixes, although there remains controversy over each one. Japan, for instance, has approved stevia and it is found in many products. Other sweeteners that are banned in the USA are used in other countries, such as cyclamate, and vice-versa. Critics of the use of acesulfame potassium say the chemical has not been studied adequately and may be carcinogenic.

References

1. ^ Clauß K., Jensen H. (1973). "Oxathiazinone Dioxides - A New Group of Sweetening Agents". Angewandte Chemie International Edition 12 (11): 869-876. DOI:10.1002/anie.197308691. 
2. ^ David J. Ager, David P. Pantaleone, Scott A. Henderson, Alan R. Katritzky, Indra Prakash, D. Eric Walters (1998). "Commercial, Synthetic Nonnutritive Sweeteners". Angewandte Chemie International Edition 37 (13-24): 1802-1817. DOI:<1802::AID-ANIE1802>3.0.CO;2-9 10.1002/(SICI)1521-3773(19980803)37:13/14<1802::AID-ANIE1802>3.0.CO;2-9. 

Angewandte Chemie or Angewandte Chemie International Edition is the chemistry journal of the Gesellschaft Deutscher Chemiker (Society of German Chemists). ... A digital object identifier (or DOI) is a standard for persistently identifying a piece of intellectual property on a digital network and associating it with related data, the metadata, in a structured extensible way. ... Angewandte Chemie or Angewandte Chemie International Edition is the chemistry journal of the Gesellschaft Deutscher Chemiker (Society of German Chemists). ... A digital object identifier (or DOI) is a standard for persistently identifying a piece of intellectual property on a digital network and associating it with related data, the metadata, in a structured extensible way. ...

See also

• Aspartame
• Soft drink
• Sweeteners

Aspartame (IPA: ) is the name for an artificial, non-carbohydrate sweetener, aspartyl-phenylalanine-1-methyl ester; i. ... A soft drink is a drink that contains no alcohol. ... A sweetener is a food additive which adds the basic taste of sweetness to a food. ...

External links

• Official Nutrinova Sunett brand sweetener site
• Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives evaluation monograph of Acesulfame Potassium
• Institute of Food Technologists article "Low-calorie Sweeteners and Other Sugar Substitutes: A Review of the Safety Issues"
• FDA approval of Acesulfame Potassium
• FDA approval of Acesulfame Potassium as a General Purpose Sweetener in Food
• International Food Information Council article (IFIC) Foundation Everything You Need to Know About Acesulfame Potassium
• Whole Foods Market Health Info Acesulfame K
• Elmhurst College, Illinois Virtual ChemBook Acesulfame K
• Center for Science in the Public Interest article "Sample Quotes from Cancer Experts' Letters on Acesulfame Testing"