Problems With Saccharin Sweetener

Saccharin, the artificial sweetener used in Tab diet soda and Sweet 'n' Low, has been in use longer than any other sugar substitute. That long history should be comforting, but in this case, a look at saccharin's history may be disturbing instead. From the beginning, saccharin has been accused of causing health problems.

History

• Saccharin was first created in 1878 at Johns Hopkins University. Constantin Fahlberg was working on coal tar derivatives but instead found he'd produced a substance 300 times sweeter than natural sugar. He applied for a patent in 1884.

  The USDA first ran tests on saccharin in 1907. In 1911 the Food Inspection Decision declared saccharin harmful, but in 1912 they reversed that opinion. From that time until the present, the government has seemed unable to decide whether or not saccharin is dangerous.

Function

• Saccharin is used as a substitute for sugar in diet products. It satisfies dieters' craving for sweet products without the empty calories, though many complain it has a bitter aftertaste.

  Saccharin was at the height of its popularity in the 1960s and '70s, when it was the only artificial sweetener available and so was used in many diet products. Today, other sweeteners without the bitter aftertaste are more in fashion. Saccharin is mainly used in combination with other sweeteners, such as aspartame, in fountain drinks, where its more stable shelf life is a benefit. It's also used in Sweet 'n' Low.

Theories/Speculation

• Ever since saccharin became available, there have been theories that it was harmful to human health. It was banned in 1911, but the outbreak of World War I, and subsequent sugar shortages, led to the lifting of that ban.

  In the 1960s the theories about saccharin's harmful effects settled on cancer, and a series of experiments were done. The height of the saccharin panic came in 1977, after an experiment feeding large doses of saccharin to rats led to bladder cancer in the rats. The FDA drafted a proposal to ban saccharin, but it never passed. Canada did ban the product.

Misconceptions

• Many people believe saccharin has been proven to cause cancer. This is not true. The amount of saccharin fed to the rats in the famous experiment was so large it would never be replicated by normal use of the product. It's also possible there was contamination in the syringes used to administer the saccharin. Further, in later years, one of the types of rats used in the experiment was shown to develop cancer on its own.

  The FDA removed their proposal to ban saccharin in 1991, and the U.S. Congress reversed the law requiring health warning labels on saccharin in 2000.

Warning

• It's hard to know what the truth is about saccharin's danger. It's currently declared safe, but its checkered past may make it difficult to trust that declaration. With so many other sweeteners on the market now, most people will probably feel better choosing another option.