Edulcorantes, utilização na indústria e percepção do consumidor: uma revisão

Abstract

Nowadays, there is a lot of discussion about the excessive consumption of sugar, responsible for causing diseases like obesity, diabetes and tooth decay, and about its potential substitutes. After many researches, it is possible to see ingredients that confer the sweetness of sugar, as sweeteners, which are already part of several food industry fields and, for some products, they are essential. Because of that, some discussions have appeared such as the food safety and potential toxicology of these ingredients. These discussions, mostly held in informal contexts, seen in social media and even in articles, can confuse consumers. Therefore, this paper aims at clarifying, based on existing literature, about different types of sweeteners and the potential substitutes of sucrose, artificial or natural, and how information about these ingredients are disclosed by media. With this bibliographic search, it was possible to make considerations about the importance of using such additives in food industry, highlighting how incorrect information that circulates in media may adversely influence the decision making process of consumers in buying food.