Potential intake of intense sweeteners in Brazil

Abstract

A survey of intense sweetener intakes was carried out in the winter of 1990 and summer of 1991 in Brazil. Data on the potential intake of the intense sweeteners aspartame, cyclamate and saccharin were generated, based on a representative sample of 673 individuals who completed a questionnaire designed to collect information on demographic details and habitual usage of sweetener-containing food and drinks. The respondents were randomly chosen among intense sweetener consumers living the cities of Campinas, São Paulo and Curitiba, Paraná. Potential daily intakes by individuals were calculated for each sweetener by combining each person's consumption of sweetener-containing food and beverages with information generated by the determination of the concentrations of the sweeteners used in these products. The data showed that 72% of the studied population consumed saccharin, 67% cyclamate and 40% aspartame. The main reasons alleged for the use of intense sweeteners were weight-control diet (36%), diabetes (35%) and weight loss (23%). Table-top sweeteners were the major source of sweeteners, followed by soft drinks. The median daily intake of aspartame, cyclamate and saccharin represented approximately 2.9, 15.5, and 16-4% of the corresponding ADI, respectively. Diabetics in general had a much higher intake within the studied population.

Utilização de adoçantes dietéticos entre adultos em Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil: um estudo de base populacional

“…Até a década de 1980, no Brasil, os produtos dietéticos eram regulamentados como drogas, sendo comercializados em farmácias e consumidos apenas por quem necessitasse controlar a ingestão de sacarose, como portadores de diabetes mellitus ou de outras doenças 1 . Entretanto, a partir de 1988, os produtos à base de edulcorantes tiveram seu uso estendido para a população em geral 2 .…”

“…Nas últimas décadas, o consumo desse tipo de edulcorante tem aumentado em vários países 7 , e produtos dietéticos (especialmente refrigerantes diet e adoçantes dietéticos) têm sido as principais fontes de ingestão de edulcorantes não calóricos 1 . O aumento global das doenças crônicas não transmissíveis, especialmente obesidade e diabetes mellitus, pode ser uma das justificativas para o consumo cada vez maior desse tipo de produto 8 .…”

The potential application of a biomarker approach for the investigation of low-calorie sweetener exposure

“…The optimal methodology for assessing habitual LCS exposure is a 1-2-week prospective, brand level diary, including information on portion sizes along with brand-specific information on LCS concentrations in products (48) . Given that obtaining such refined individual level data can be time and resource intensive for investigators, as well as labour intensive for participants, a variety of dietary assessment tools have been utilised in the past including 24-h recalls (49)(50)(51)(52)(53) , FFQ covering various durations (54)(55)(56)(57) and food diaries lasting 2 d (58) , 5 d (59) , 7 d and 14 d (60) . Some studies used a combination of retrospective and prospective intake data in order to first identify potential high consumers and then to further investigate these high consumers (61,62) .…”

Effect of high levels of intense sweetener intake in insulin dependent diabetics on the ratio of dietary sugar to fat: a case–control study

“…Indeed, the 97.5th percentile of intakes tends to be in the order of 2-4% of the ADI. The studies conducted by Toledo & Ioshi (1995), Heybach & Ross (1989), Renwick (1999), Virtanen et al (1988), MAFF (1990), Hinson & Nicol (1992) and MAFF (1995) included diabetics in their survey groups.…”

“…Intense sweetener intake has been widely studied in both the diabetic and general populations (Virtanen et al, 1988;Heybach & Ross, 1989;MAFF, 1990;Bär & Bierman, 1992;Hinson & Nicol, 1992;Hulshof & Bouman, 1992;Bergsten, 1993;CRÉ DOC, 1994;MAFF, 1995;Toledo & Ioshi, 1995;Elmadfa et al, 1996;Ishiwata et al, 1998;Leclerq et al, 1999;Renwick, 1999). There is no evidence in any of these studies that individuals exceed the Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI) of one or more intense sweeteners on a long-term basis.…”