Factors associated with the acceptance of sugar and sugar substitutes by the public

Acceptance is described in both market and sensory research terminology and recent developments in the fields of applied psychology and physiology are examined for their pertinence to public acceptance of sucrose and its substitutes. Information on the function of sucrose in foods other than beverages is presented with emphasis on salivation as an acceptance factor and attention is drawn to its possible dental significance. Distinctions are made between the sweetening and bulking properties of sucrose and sugar substitutes. Factors having a bearing on the acceptance of sweet foods and the determination of their optimal sugar content are described in detail. While major decreases in sucrose intake in the US resulted from high-fructose corn-sweetener usage in soft drinks, no evidence is yet available to suggest that the use of sugar substitutes of the intense artificial sweetener type has caused any decrease in ordinary sugar consumption. Neither is the consumption of polyols (sorbitol, mannitol, xylitol) high enough in confectionery categories to cause any discernible decrease in sugar usage. The evidence suggests not so much that sugar substitutes may have stopped the growth in sucrose usage, but that new product categories such as diet foods and "sugarless' confections may have been created. These categories were never available to fermentable carbohydrate sweeteners and equivalence in acceptance to sucrose-sweetened products was not an important factor in their growth.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)