Bakers push for change in EU sweeteners rules

Lobbying efforts to extend the use of high intensity sweeteners into new food categories have stepped up a gear as bakery and confectionery firms push for a change in EU legislation.

Currently, intense sweeteners such as aspartame and sucralose - widely used in soft drinks - are only allowed in confectionery with no added sugar or in fine bakery products for special nutritional uses. That is frustrating for manufacturers wanting to use them in combination with sugar and bulk sweeteners when reformulating bakery products.
CAOBISCO - a trade association representing bakery and confectionery firms - is pressing to extend the use of certain intense sweeteners to energy-reduced confectionery and fine bakery products. It is citing an independent scientist’s report to support its view, which it hopes will convince the European Commission and national authorities of its case.

CAOBISCO submitted the report to the European Commission at the end of last year and it has just been presented by the Food and Drink Federation (FDF) to the UK Food Standards Agency.
It argues that using aspartame, saccharine and sucralose at the proposed levels in fine bakery products and reduced-sugar confectionery would only result in a small increase in overall intakes of these high intensity sweeteners. That would mean that ‘high level consumers’ (including children) would be unlikely to exceed the acceptable daily intakes set for these sweeteners, explained the FDF.
“The extension of use of intense sweeteners would provide manufacturers with more flexibility when it comes to reformulation of products and would be in line with increasing pressure on manufacturers to reduce sugar and calories.”

CAOBISCO is calling for an amendment of the June 30 1994 European Parliament and Council Directive 94/35/EC on sweeteners for use in foodstuffs to include: confectionery, energy-reduced; and fine bakery wares, energy-reduced categories.