Learn more about our ingredients
Canderel low calorie sweeteners are made using a unique blend of ingredients that taste delicious. Aspartame, Acesulfame – K, Sucralose and Stevia are the main sweetening ingredients in the Canderel Range. Only a small amount is needed to achieve the same sweetness as sugar, but with a lot fewer calories.
Aspartame the main sweetening ingredient of Canderel (red range products), consists of two amino acids - which are linked together to produce a pleasant sweet taste - aspartic acid and phenylalanine, found in a very wide range of other foods containing protein such as meat, fish, eggs and dairy products, and a small amount of methanol. Methanol is a natural component of many foods and beverages, including many fruits and vegetables.
The body digests the components of Aspartame in exactly the same way it digests these components from natural food sources. Aspartame has been used to sweeten food and drinks for more than 25 years and is one of the most thoroughly researched ingredients. It is 200 times sweeter than sugar.
Acesulfame K also used in Canderel (red range products) is a white, odourless powder that is approximately 200 times sweeter than sugar. It is not metabolized by the body and is excreted by the kidneys unchanged.
It has been tested extensively before being approved by the regulatory authorities and approved in more than 100 countries. Ace-K has a long history of safety and is currently used in thousands of products. In fact, it does not require a warning or information statement on the label.
The EU Scientific Committee for Food has set an Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI) for Acesulfame-K of 9mg/kg of body weight/day and 40mg/kg/day for Aspartame. For an adult weighing 60kgs, the intake of Canderel tablets needed to reach the ADI would be 132 tablets - every day throughout your life.
Sucralose the sweetening ingredient used in Canderel Yellow is a no-calorie sweetener made from sugar. It's 600 times sweeter than sugar and has a clean, sweet taste without an aftertaste. Sucralose is produced from sugar through a multistep manufacturing process. During this process a small amount of chlorine is added which changes the structure of the sugar molecule. This change produces a sweetener that has no calories, but is 600 times sweeter than sugar. Chlorine is present naturally in many foods and beverages that we eat and drink every day. For example, lettuce, mushrooms, and table salt contain small amounts of chlorine. The ADI set for Sucralose by the Food and Agriculture Organization/World Health Organization (FAO/WHO) Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives, is 15 mg/kg of body weight per day. For an adult weighing 60kgs, the intake of Canderel Yellow tablets needed to reach the ADI would be 145 tablets - every day throughout your life.
Steviol glycosides ( with high Rebaudioside A) are the main sweeteneting ingredients in Canderel green range products.
Stevia is the generic term used for sweetening substances derived from the herb Stevia rebaudiana (S. rebaudiana). Stevia rebaudiana is a plant native to South America that has been used for centuries as a natural sweetener. Steviol glycoside is a more precise term for a group of sweet compounds extracted and purified from S. rebaudiana. Of these, Stevioside and Rebaudioside A are the predominant Steviol glycosides found in S. rebaudiana. Rebaudioside A, or Reb A is the sweetest of all the Steviol glycosides in the Stevia leaf.
Steviol glycosides have zero calories and are 250-300 times sweeter than sucrose so only very small amounts are needed to sweeten a food or beverage. Steviol glycosides are suitable for use in cooking as they are heat stable.
In Europe, Steviol glycosides were approved for sale on the market in December 2011. EFSA conducted a general safety assessment for the approval of Steviol glycosides as a sweetener in foodstuffs and for use as a flavour enhancer. A positive scientific opinion from EFSA was published in April 2010. A revised EFSA opinion, supporting these previous conclusions, was published in January 2011. The EU Scientific Committee for Food has set an Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI) for Steviol glycosides, expressed as steviol equivalent of 4 mg/kg of body weight per day. For an adult weighing 70 kgs, the intake of Canderel Green Tablets needed to reach the ADI would be 71 tablets a day.
Additional ingredients are added to Canderel to make the very concentrated sweetener easier to dissolve and enhance the flavour of the food and drink. All ingredients are approved food additives that can be safely added to food and beverages.
Maltodextrin, the bulking agent used in Canderel Granules is an easily digested carbohydrate made from corn starch which is gluten free.
Lactose, the bulking agent (naturally occurring as milk sugar ) used to increase the size of tablets so they can be easily handled.
For more queries on our ingredients, please call our Careline on 0800 731 3500 (UK).
