Neotame

Also known as neohexyl-aspartame

What it is:

Neotame is produced by adding a 6-carbon (neohexyl) group to the amine nitrogen of aspartame.

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Taste

Neotame is sweet, with a potency about 8,000 times sucrose, on a weight basis. There is little or no off-taste, except that, at high sweetness levels, it has a slight licorice-like cooling effect in the mouth. Its sweetness is slower in onset than sucrose, and it lingers significantly at high sweetness levels.

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Calories

Neotame does not provide any calories.

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Properties

Neotame has better stability than aspartame. Like aspartame, its stability is pH-dependent, with optimum stability at about pH 4.5. Its stability is also temperature dependent, but it is sufficiently heat stable to work in baking applications.

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Safety

Neotame was approved by the FDA in 2002 for use in the United States. JECFA approved neotame in 2003. It is approved in Australia and New Zealand, and a number of countries in Europe and South America.

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Other information

The taste quality of neotame (particularly the slow onset) limits its usefulness as a sole sweetener. It is most often used in combination with one or more other sweeteners, to achieve a balanced sweet taste.

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