Breaking News on Food & Beverage Development - Europe: Consumers Regard Sweeteners With Suspicion

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Breaking News on Food & Beverage Development - Europe

 

 

Consumers regard sweeteners with suspicion

 

 

 

 

By Elaine Watson, 15-Apr-2010

 

 

 

 

Many British consumers still regard sweeteners with suspicion,

although in practice, very few actively avoid products that contain

them, according to research commissioned by the British Nutrition

Foundation (BNF).

 

A quarter of British adults polled last month by YouGov on behalf of

the BNF said they lacked confidence in the safety of low calorie

sweeteners, while almost a third of those expressing concerns

believed the 'risk' related to the 'artificial' nature of some of the

sweeteners. But the vast majority still ate and drank products

containing them regardless of these lingering anxieties.

 

Professor Andrew Renwick, emeritus professor at the University of

Southampton's school of medicine, is presenting the research today at

a BNF conference on sweeteners.

 

He said the findings showed that many consumers believed that

'natural' ingredients were automatically safer than 'artificial' or

'industrially produced' ingredients. Likewise, most consumers did not

realise that sweeteners and other food additives underwent rigorous

safety testing in order to gain regulatory approval.

 

Their confusion in part reflected conflicting messages in the media,

which covered positive and negative academic studies about sweeteners

such as aspartame from one day to the next without giving any sense

of how such studies contributed to the overall body of scientific evidence.

 

But the food industry itself had also contributed to consumer anxiety

by presenting products with 'no artificial sweeteners' or only

'natural sweeteners' as inherently superior or even safer, he

acknowledged: " Consumers need more information from the food industry

and from regulators about the way safety measures are put in place to

protect their health when it comes to low calorie sweeteners. "

 

Sweeteners and weight management

 

Despite their concerns over safety, 38% of adults polled believed

that eating foods or drinks containing low calorie sweeteners could

help them lose weight as part of a calorie-controlled diet.

 

While marketers in the food industry were fixated on all things

'natural', blacklisting artificial sweeteners was not in consumers'

best interests as obesity figures continued to rise, BNF director

general Professor Judy Buttriss told Food Manufacture last year:

" It's not helpful if they are avoided out of hand. "

 

While aspartame has been given a clean bill of health by the European

Food Safety Authority, several retailers have banned it as part of

clean-labelling initiatives. But this was counterproductive, said

Buttriss. " To facilitate energy reduction in soft drinks, stronger

support from the FSA for the use of non-caloric sweeteners is needed

in terms of acknowledging their safety, in order to achieve lower

levels of sugar. In particular, clear communications and reassurance

are required with respect to aspartame. "

 

Sara Stanner, science programme manager at the BNF, added: " The

results of this survey should prompt the food industry to communicate

clearly to customers about the ingredients in their food, so that

they can make informed choices about what they eat and drink. "

 

The research was conducted by YouGov in late March via an online

questionnaire sent to 2,017 British adults.

 

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For more information on aspartame (AminoSweet, Canderel, Equal,

NutraSweet, E951, etc) to to www.mpwhi.com, www.dorway.com,

www.wnho.net Aspartame Toxicity Center, www.holisticmed.com/aspartame