Alternative sweeteners
Confused as to which sweeteners have been used in your favourite product? We demystify the numbers.
Many nutrition labels list 'numbers' instead of printing the name of ingredients. Often this is simply because there isn't enough room on the label; but it can make reading labels very confusing.
The following sweeteners have all been approved for use in New Zealand foods. Some are used in food manufacturing because they are intense sweeteners; others are less intense but used for other processing or end-product attributes.
A blend of sweeteners is often used to provide sweetness and stability to suit particular foods or beverages, so on some nutrition labels you may find a combination of these numbers:
| Number | Name of sweetener |
|---|---|
| 420 | Sorbitol or sorbitol syrup |
| 421 | Mannitol |
| 950 | Acesulphame potassium (Ace K) |
| 951 | Aspartame |
| 952 | Cyclamate or calcium cyclamate or sodium cyclamate |
| 953 | Isomalt |
| 954 | Saccharin |
| 955 | Sucralose |
| 956 | Alitame |
| 957 | Thaumatin |
| 961 | Neotame |
| 962 | Aspartame-acesulphame salt |
| 965 | Maltitol and maltitol syrup or hydrogenated glucose syrup |
| 967 | Lactitol |
| 968 | Xylitol |
| 968 | Erythritol |
A full list of all approved food additives is also available on the website of Food Standards Australia New Zealand in both alphabetical and numeric lists.
- Article by:
- Jeni Pearce
First published January 2007
