Analytical methodologies for determination of artificial sweeteners in foodstuffs

Artificial high-intensity sweeteners are used increasingly frequently for food production. The food industry tends to highlight beneficial aspects of their use (e.g., tooth friendliness, increasing the quality of life of those suffering from different forms of diabetes and the possibility of weight control without anyone sacrificing their favorite “unhealthy” drinks or snacks). However, some consumers are deeply concerned about the safety of artificial sweeteners and claim that the food industry is replacing natural beet sugar or cane sugar for purely economic reasons.Most of these food additives have a maximum usable dose or a maximum allowable concentration specified for a given type of food. In order to assure consumer safety, it is necessary to control the content of sweeteners in foodstuffs. Analytical methods (including high-performance liquid chromatography, ion chromatography, thin-layer chromatography, gas chromatography, capillary electrophoresis, flow-injection analysis, electroanalysis and spectroscopy) can determine sweeteners individually and simultaneously in mixtures. This review focuses on the application of some popular analytical procedures for determination of artificial sweeteners in food.