Sucralose, manufactured and marketed under the brandname SPLENDA by Tate & Lyle, could soon be included in the EU Pharmacopeia as European companies start to realise its full benefits the company says.
SPLENDA sucralose is already widely used in the food and beverage industry; it has also been used extensively in pharmaceutical applications by companies in the US, following its inclusion in the US Pharmacopeia. Existing applications include vitamin tablets, throat lozenges, and cold remedies.
The product is currently in several European drug formulations, and with anticipated increased interest in the European market it is envisaged that SPLENDA sucralose will be included in the EU Pharmacopeia in the near future.
"Sucralose has a high-quality sweetness and flavour profile close to that of sucrose and is synergistic with most nutritive and non-nutritive sweeteners, as well as polyols," said Mary Quinlan, manager, sweetener technology development, Tate & Lyle. "As it is 600 times sweeter than sugar it does not contribute to the bulk of the product - we know that this is seen as an advantage by some customers for tablet and dry form pharmaceuticals, as it allows more room for active ingredients than when compared with traditional sweetening systems.
"Furthermore sucralose is a very stable, inert compound that has not been found to interact with other ingredients. In liquid systems it is stable across the range from low pH to neutral formulations and it is also highly heat stable - meaning that it can withstand heat processing conditions such as pasteurisation or UHT without any loss."
Using SPLENDA sucralose in pharmaceutical applications also offers "clean label" benefits as it is not required to carry any safety information or warning statements on products where it is used. Other key benefits include its suitability for diabetics, pregnant women and nursing mothers.