Shoppers don’t trust sweeteners

03-Jun-2010 - Last updated on 07-Jun-2010 at 16:29 GMT

As delegates heard at a recent British Nutrition Foundation (BNF) conference, consumers are born with an innate preference for sweet tastes, perhaps because in evolutionary terms it signals safe food and energy provision.

Since saccharin was discovered almost 100 years ago, low-calorie and intense sweeteners have been developed and used in food manufacturing to satisfy the desire for sweetness without recourse to extra calories associated with sugars.

However, the potential benefits have been clouded by concerns over the safety of artificial sweeteners and that they confuse the body's appetite regulatory mechanisms and so consumers may increase their intake of energy from other foods and drinks.

Despite this, a recent survey conducted by YouGov for the BNF revealed that sweeteners' role in weight control is well recognised. Over half (55%) of adults polled said that they consumed foods and drinks containing sweeteners to help them lose or control weight.

But many consumers still regard sweeteners with suspicion. The most common concerns were around safety (cited by 15% of those trying to avoid products containing sweeteners) and the perceived 'risk' related to the 'artificial' nature of some sweeteners (raised by almost a third).

Clearly, more needs to be done to communicate the rigorous safety testing that sweeteners must pass in order to be used in food and beverages, and the fact that the permitted levels carry a considerable safety margin to ensure that intakes remain below critical levels.

But food manufacturers may not necessarily be best placed to communicate this, as 31% of respondents to the same poll thought nutritionists and dietitians are the most trusted sources of information, and only 1% said the food industry and food labels.

Professor Judy Buttriss  is director general  at the British Nutrition Foundation