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| For Immediate Release: September 27, 1999 Consumer Group Petitions FDA to Require "Diarrhea" Notice on Foods that Contain Sorbitol at by | |||
| == '''The Center for Science for Public Interest''' == | |||
| "WASHINGTON - The Center for Science in the Public Interest today petitioned the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to improve the existing warning label on processed foods that contain the sugar substitute sorbitol. Sorbitol is a sweet-tasting sugar alcohol used in many sugar-free or “dietetic” candies, cake mixes, syrups, and other foods, as well as in some medicines. It provides fewer calories than regular sugars, because it is poorly absorbed by the body. | |||
| Studies over the past fifteen years have proven that sorbitol can cause gastrointestinal symptoms, ranging from mild discomfort to severe diarrhea, when adults consume between 10 and 50 grams of the additive. Children, because of their small size, may be affected by even smaller amounts. Currently, the FDA requires a laxative notice only on the few products that may lead to the consumption of 50 grams or more of sorbitol daily, though some companies voluntarily label additional products. | |||
| “The FDA should require a better label notice on sorbitol-containing products,” said Michael F. Jacobson, Ph.D., executive director of CSPI. “The FDA has known for years that sorbitol can cause severe diarrhea. It’s high time that the Agency required a strong label notice on all products that might cause problems.” | |||
| “Since even small amounts of sorbitol can cause gastrointestinal symptoms it is important for the FDA to inform the public of this potential problem,” said Dr. Jeffrey S. Hyams, Head, Department of Digestive Diseases and Nutrition, Connecticut Children’s Medical Center, and Professor of Pediatrics, Connecticut University School of Medicine. “I know of people who have undergone extensive medical testing for abdominal pain and diarrhea when the problem was simply that they were ingesting excessive amounts of sorbitol.” Dr. Hyams conducted a clinical study in which five of seven adults experienced gastrointestinal symptoms after ingesting 10 grams of sorbitol. | |||
| Some products that contain more than 10 grams of sorbitol or similar sugar substitute per serving include: Brach’s Star Brites Fruity Candies, Life Savers Delites Hard Candy; Cumberland Packing Corp.’s Sweet ‘N Low Sugar Free, Low Fat Cake Mixes; Frutay Peppermint Drops; Cary’s Maple Syrup; Allen Wertz Simply Sugar Free Chocolate & Vanilla Caramels, Fruit Taffy Whips, and Coffee Toffee. | |||
| “With Halloween coming up, people should be concerned about well-meaning families giving candy to children that could end up giving them severe diarrhea,” said Dr. Ray Breitenbach. Dr. Breitenbach is a practicing family physician and retired United States Air Force Lt. Colonel Flight Surgeon who has written about the risks of eating sorbitol-containing candy. | |||
| CSPI has petitioned the FDA to require foods containing one or more grams per serving of sorbitol or other sugar alcohol, such as mannitol, to carry a more informative notice. CSPI’s petition recommends that labels state: “NOTICE: This product contains sorbitol, which may cause diarrhea, bloating, and abdominal pain. Not suitable for consumption by children. To protect yourself, start by eating no more than one serving at a time.” | |||
| == External links == | == External links == | ||
Revision as of 22:29, 31 May 2006
| Sorbitol | |
|---|---|
| Chemical name | Sorbitol |
| Chemical formula | Template:Carbon6Template:Hydrogen14Template:Oxygen6 |
| Molecular mass | 182.17 g/mol |
| Melting point | 95°C |
| Boiling point | 295°C |
| Density | x.xxx g/cm |
| CAS number | 50-70-4 |
| SMILES | OCC(O)C(O)C(O)C(O)CO |
| |
| Disclaimer and references | |
Sorbitol, also known as glucitol, is a sugar alcohol the body metabolises slowly. It is obtained by hydrogenation of glucose taking the aldehyde group to an additional hydroxyl group hence the name sugar alcohol.
Sorbitol is an artificial sweetener often used in diet foods (including diet drinks). It is called a nutritive sweetener because it provides 2.6 calories (11 kilojoules) per gram versus the 4 calories (17 kJ) of sugar and starch. Sorbitol also occurs naturally in many stone fruits.
Sorbitol is produced naturally by the body, yet sorbitol is poorly digested by the body. Too much sorbitol in cells can cause damage.
Diabetic retinopathy and neuropathy may be related to excess sorbitol in the cells of the eyes and nerves. The source of this sorbitol in diabetics is excess glucose, which goes through the polyol pathway. Ingesting large amounts of sorbitol can lead to some abdominal pain, gas, and mild to severe diarrhea. Sorbitol can also aggravate irritable bowel syndrome and fructose malabsorption.
Sorbitol is often used in modern cosmetics as a humectant and thickener. Some transparent gels can only be made with sorbitol as it has a refractive index sufficiently high for transparent formulations. It is also used as a humectant in some cigarettes.
Sorbitol is used as a cryoprotectant additive (mixed with sucrose and sodium polyphosphates) in the manufacture of surimi, a highly refined, uncooked fish paste most commonly produced from Alaska (or walleye) pollock (Theragra chalcogramma).
Sorbitol is identified as a potential key chemical intermediate from biomass resources. Complete reduction of sorbitol opens the way to alkanes such as hexane which can be used as a biofuel. Sorbitol itself provides much of the hydrogen required for the transformation.
The above chemical reaction is exothermic and 1.5 mole of sorbitol generates 1 mole of hexane. When hydrogen is co-fed no carbon dioxide production takes place. The advantage of hexane as a biofuel over well established other biofuels such as ethanol is that hexane easily separates from water. In fact, the energy required to distill ethanol from water in the bio-ethanol production process eliminates much of the energy advantages.
See also
External links
- NIH Diabetes dictionary — see entry on sorbitol
References
- Production of Liquid Hydrocarbons from Biomass Jürgen O. Metzger Angewandte Chemie International Edition Volume 45, Issue 5 , Pages 696 - 698 2005 Abstract
Used in Eclipse Gum, Orbit ë
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