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Acesulfame potassium
 
 
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Acesulfame potassium is a calorie
Calorie

The calorie is a pre-SI metric system unit of energy. The unit was first defined by Professor Nicolas Cl?ment in 1824 as a unit of heat. This definition entered French and English dictionaries between 1841 and 1867....
-free artificial sweetener, also known as Acesulfame K or Ace K (K being the symbol
Chemical symbol

A chemical symbol is an abbreviation or shortened version of the name of a chemical element, generally assigned in relation to its Latin language name....
 for potassium
Potassium

Potassium is a chemical element. It has the symbol K , atomic number 19, and atomic mass 39.0983. Potassium was first isolated from potash, hence the name....
), and marketed under the trade names Sunett and Sweet One. In the European Union, it is known under the E number
E number

E numbers are number codes for food additives and are usually found on food labels throughout the European Union. The numbering scheme follows that of the International Numbering System as determined by the Codex Alimentarius committee....
 (additive code) E950. It was discovered accidentally in 1967 by German chemist Karl Clauss at Hoechst AG
Hoechst AG

Hoechst AG was a Germany chemicals then life-sciences company that became Aventis after its merger with Rh?ne-Poulenc S.A. in 1999, and now Sanofi-Aventis after 2004....
 (now Nutrinova
Nutrinova

Nutrinova is a global manufacturer of food constituents. It was formerly known as Hoechst until 1997 when it was taken over by Celanese and adopted its current name....
). In chemical structure, acesulfame potassium is the potassium salt of 6-methyl-1,2,3- oxathiazine-4(3H)-one 2,2-dioxide.






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Acesulfame potassium is a calorie
Calorie

The calorie is a pre-SI metric system unit of energy. The unit was first defined by Professor Nicolas Cl?ment in 1824 as a unit of heat. This definition entered French and English dictionaries between 1841 and 1867....
-free artificial sweetener, also known as Acesulfame K or Ace K (K being the symbol
Chemical symbol

A chemical symbol is an abbreviation or shortened version of the name of a chemical element, generally assigned in relation to its Latin language name....
 for potassium
Potassium

Potassium is a chemical element. It has the symbol K , atomic number 19, and atomic mass 39.0983. Potassium was first isolated from potash, hence the name....
), and marketed under the trade names Sunett and Sweet One. In the European Union, it is known under the E number
E number

E numbers are number codes for food additives and are usually found on food labels throughout the European Union. The numbering scheme follows that of the International Numbering System as determined by the Codex Alimentarius committee....
 (additive code) E950. It was discovered accidentally in 1967 by German chemist Karl Clauss at Hoechst AG
Hoechst AG

Hoechst AG was a Germany chemicals then life-sciences company that became Aventis after its merger with Rh?ne-Poulenc S.A. in 1999, and now Sanofi-Aventis after 2004....
 (now Nutrinova
Nutrinova

Nutrinova is a global manufacturer of food constituents. It was formerly known as Hoechst until 1997 when it was taken over by Celanese and adopted its current name....
). In chemical structure, acesulfame potassium is the potassium salt of 6-methyl-1,2,3- oxathiazine-4(3H)-one 2,2-dioxide. It is a white crystalline powder with molecular formula C4H4KNO4S and a molecular weight of 201.24.

Acesulfame K is 180-200 times sweeter than sucrose
Sucrose

Sucrose is a disaccharide of glucose and fructose, with the molecular formula C12H22O11. Its systematic name is a-D-glucopyranosyl- -?-D-fructofuranoside ....
 (table sugar), as sweet as aspartame
Aspartame

Aspartame is the name for an artificial, non-saccharide sweetener, aspartyl-phenylalanine-1-methyl ester; that is, a methyl ester of the dipeptide of the amino acids aspartic acid and phenylalanine....
, about half as sweet as saccharin
Saccharin

Saccharin is an artificial sweetener. The basic substance, benzoic sulfinide, has effectively no food energy and is much sweeter than sucrose, but has an unpleasant bitter or metallic aftertaste, especially at high concentrations....
, and one-quarter as sweet as sucralose
Sucralose

Sucralose is a zero-calorie sugar substitute artificial sweetener. In the European Union, it is also known under the E number E955. Sucralose is approximately 600 times as Sweetness as sucrose , twice as sweet as saccharin, and 3.3 times as sweet as aspartame....
. Like saccharin, it has a slightly bitter aftertaste
Aftertaste

Aftertaste is the persistence of a sensation of flavor. Both food and drink may have an aftertaste. Alcoholic beverages such as wine, beer and whiskey are noted for having particularly strong aftertastes....
, especially at high concentrations. Kraft Foods
Kraft Foods

Kraft Foods, Inc. is the second-largest food and beverage company headquartered in the United States and the third largest in the world .The Philip Morris Company , acquired Kraft for $12.9 billion in 1988, eventually merging it with another food subsidiary, General Foods, which it had acquired in 1985....
 has patented the use of sodium ferulate
Sodium ferulate

Sodium ferulate , the sodium salt of ferulic acid, is a drug used in traditional Chinese medicine for treatment of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases and to prevent thrombosis....
 to mask acesulfame's aftertaste. Acesulfame K is often blended with other sweeteners (usually sucralose or aspartame). These blends are reputed to give a more sugar-like taste whereby each sweetener masks the other's aftertaste, and/or exhibits a synergistic
Synergy

Synergy is the term used to describe a situation where different entities cooperate advantageously for a final outcome. Simply defined, it means that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts....
 effect by which the blend is sweeter than its components.

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. In carbonated drinks, it is almost always used in conjunction with another sweetener, such as aspartame or sucralose. It is also used as a sweetener
Excipient

An excipient is an inactive substance used as a carrier for the active ingredients of a medication. In many cases, an "active" substance may not be easily administered and absorbed by the human body; in such cases the substance in question may be dissolved into or mixed with an excipient....
 in pharmaceutical products, especially chewable and liquid medications, where it can make the active ingredients more palatable.

As with aspartame, saccharin, sucralose, and other sweeteners that are sweeter than common sugars, there is concern over the safety of acesulfame potassium. Although studies of these sweeteners show varying and controversial degrees of dietary safety, the United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 Food and Drug Administration
Food and Drug Administration

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is an Government agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services and is responsible for regulating and supervising the safety of foods, dietary supplements, Medications, vaccines, Biopharmaceutical, blood transfusion, medical devices, Electromagnetic radiation-emitting devices, veteri...
 (USFDA) has approved these for use as general-purpose sweetening agents. Critics of the use of acesulfame potassium say the chemical has not been studied adequately and may be carcinogen
Carcinogen

The term carcinogen refers to any substance, radionuclide or radiation that is an agent directly involved in the promotion of cancer or in the increase of its propagation....
ic, although these claims have been dismissed by the USFDA and by equivalent authorities in the European Union.

See also


  • Soft drink
    Soft drink

    A soft drink is a beverage that does not contain alcohol. Carbonated soft drinks are commonly known as soda, soda pop, pop, coke or tonic in various parts of the United States, pop in Canada, fizzy drinks in the United Kingdom and Australia and sometimes minerals in Ireland....
  • Sweeteners
  • Acetoacetic acid
    Acetoacetic acid

    Acetoacetic acid is the organic compound with the formula CH3CCH2CO2H....


External links


  • International Food Information Council article (IFIC) Foundation
  • Whole Foods Market Health Info
  • Elmhurst College, Illinois Virtual ChemBook
  • Center for Science in the Public Interest article