The uses of artificial sweetener acesulfame potassium

Acesulfame-K (also known as acesulfame K, or K-Ice) is formed by an initial reaction between 4-chlorophenol and sodium. Acesulfame-K (6-methyl-l,2,3-oxathiazin-4(3H)-one-2,2-dioxide, MW 201.24) was an accidental discovery in 1967 from studies at Hoechst Corporation in West Germany on novel ring compounds. Itbconsists of a 1,2,3-oxathiazine ring, a six-heterocyclic system in which oxygen, sulfur, and nitrogen atoms are adjacent to each another.

Acesulfame-k is mostly used in various fields of sugar substitutes. This is a white crystalline material which is stable up to high temperatures (250 °C). Because of its high stability under high temperature, it is used in many bakery products.

Marketed as Sunette, Sweet One and Sweet & Safe, the sweetener was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1988 for limited use in products such as chewing gums and dry beverage mixes.

In specially, it has been used to decrease the bitter aftertaste of aspartame. FDA continues to support the use of acesulfame-K in diabetic and low-calorie food. In 1998, the FDA approved acesulfame K for use in soft drinks, and it was approved as a general sweetener in 2003.

Common applications are table-top sweeteners; beverages; foods, such as dairy products, desserts, bakery products, confectionery, chewing gum, pickles, syrups, sauces and marinated fish; oral hygiene products and pharmaceuticals.

Potassium acesulfame is used to give food and drink a taste that is soluble without adding calories. Acesulfame potassium is not metabolized or stored in the body. It is quickly absorbed and then excreted without undergoing modifications.
The uses of artificial sweetener acesulfame potassium