What is Sodium Cyclamate?
Artificial sweeteners are used in the modern world by people limiting their calorie intake daily and avoiding excessive amounts of sugar. Among these, sodium cyclamate has become the most commonly used and hotly debated sweetener in the decades of sweetening. It was first found in 1937 by a graduate student in the United States, and owes its extremely high sweetening power, which is 30- 50 times sweeter than ordinary table sugar. Sodium cyclamate is different from other sweeteners because it does not bitter aftertaste and can be combined with other artificial sweeteners such as saccharin or aspartame.
Sodium cyclamate E952 is a cyclamic acid salt. It is available in different grades, one of which is sodium cyclamate NF13 for pharmaceutical and food use. Earlier, due to some apprehensions raised by some countries, it was banned, however, it is allowed in many other countries for using it as a sweetener in food products, beverages, medicines, etc.
Is Sodium Cyclamate Safe?
The question of sodium cyclamate safety for consumption has been touched on for years now. It was first cleared for use in the US in the 1950s and was vacated in 1970 due to the potential health risk that may include bladder carcinogenicity in rats. However, other assessments from the various International and National health organizations have painted a more relaxed picture.
WHO and FAO, or the Food and Agriculture Organization, have assessed the information about the safety of sodium cyclamate E952 fully. According to the reviews, the estimated ADI has been established at 11mg per kilogram of body weight per day. For instance, if a man who weighs 70 kg consumes as much as 770 mg of sodium cyclamate a day, there is no anticipated toxic effect it will have on his body.
Currently, sodium cyclamate in food is used in over 130 countries, and most the European, Asian, and Latin American countries. The EFSA and other similar organizations of governance have been insistent on the fact that sodium cyclamate, referred to as sodium cyclamate E952, is safe for consumption under certain allowable quantities.
However, the United States has not ratified it for its use; this remains in controversy and a source of doubt in society. However, most of the documented works prove that sodium cyclamate sweetener does not bring about dangerous health effects when taken in moderation.
It is also necessary to point out that innovative solutions like sodium cyclamate NF13 are free from many impurities and ensure greater safety, especially for medicines.
What is Sodium Cyclamate Used for?
The sodium cyclamate uses have a wide range, and they range from the food industry to the beverage, pharmaceutical, and cosmetic industries.
In the food and beverage industry, sodium cyclamate E952 is used in the following foods and products:
- Diet sodas and soft drinks
- Sugar-free chewing gum
- Sugar-free jams and jellies
- Tabletop sweeteners
- Low-calorie desserts
- Canned fruits and preserved goods
This is because, unlike most other low-calorie sweeteners, it has the unique quality of maintaining its sweetness when heated, which is very important in cases, in cooking, or baking. Sodium cyclamate is not a thermally labile compound, as some sweeteners that change taste or may produce undesirable tastes upon cooking.
Sodium cyclamate sweetener is used in syrups, chewable tablets, and lozenges to conceal the bitter taste of the medicine. This is because sodium cyclamate NF13 is mainly used in this sector because of its quality, as measured by purity and quality, which is fairly consistent.
Sodium cyclamate is also used in cosmetic and personal care products such as toothpaste and mouthwash, to enhance the flavour to some extent, and is harmless in that respect against tooth decay, and can be used as a sugar substitute for oral care.
Altogether, its ability to be incorporated in so many food products and other areas and its relatively low price make sodium cyclamate in food a favorite commodity.
Is Sodium Cyclamate the Same as Aspartame?
As for the fact that both sodium cyclamate and aspartame belong to the group of artificial sweeteners, it is only important to mention that they are chemically different compounds that act differently in certain uses.
Aspartame is made up of two proteins: phenylalanine and aspartic acid, and is clinically established to be two hundred times sweeter than sugar. For instance, sodium cyclamate is a cyclohexylsulfamic acid and is about thirty to fifty times sweetener than sugar. This comes to mean that aspartame is sweeter than sodium cyclamate, but the latter is preferred for its relative sweetness to sugar.
It has also been seen that there are some considerable differences in conditions connected to health between the two regions. Aspartame must not be consumed by people who have phenylketonuria, a genetic disease, because the product contains phenylalanine. Sodium cyclamate, on the other hand, does not present this particular risk and is occasionally used as an aspartame alternative in certain dietary goods.
Concerning the regulations, aspartame is allowed in the United States, while sodium cyclamate E952 is banned. In many of the member countries of the European Union, particularly the southern part and some parts of Asia, both of these sweeteners are allowed, especially when mixed to minimize bitterness or bad taste associated with high concentrations of the single sweetener.
Sodium cyclamate sweetener is even preferred over aspartame in a taste test because, technically, it is less hot or bitter compared to aspartame, especially for those used in hot drinks and baked goods. That is why it is usually associated with sodium cyclamate food additive blends, which may contain saccharin or acesulfame K to enhance its sweetness and taste sensation.
However, all of them are sugar substitutes, and the choice between them can be determined by the local legislation, the choice of the public, and the purposes.
Conclusion
Sodium cyclamate is one of the commonly used artificial sweeteners all over the world, even though it is not familiar in America. From diet soda and other foods like baked foods, drugs, and even body products, this sugar substitute provides an efficient and cheap solution to reducing sugar with calorie intake.
Sodium cyclamate was once thought to be unsafe and carcinogenic, but subsequent research and results of appreciation and worldwide reviews on the substance have vouched for sodium cyclamate safety when taken in moderation. This is especially so since other pharmaceutical-grade alternatives could be offered, like sodium cyclamate NF13 in not only in food products alone but also the medical line as well. As the global demand for low-calorie sweeteners is on the rise, so is the role of sodium cyclamate E952. Regardless of whether you are interested in consuming products that contain less sodium or searching for an aspartame alternative, it is senile to have some understanding of the role of sodium cyclamate in food products.
In this regard, the following sections in this paper seek to discuss and explain sodium cyclamate so that its role and significance to the current paradigm on nutrition and food science can be ascertained. However, for more information, it is recommended to contact Mondstar.
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