The European Union has approved the artificial sweetener tagatose.


Spherix Incorporated, which owns the sweetner, said the EU had formally approved tagatose as a “novel food ingredient” which would permit the use of the sweetener in a wide variety of products.


The EU decision follows approvals of tagatose by regulatory agencies in the US, South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand, and by JECFA, the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives.


Tagatose is a low-calorie, natural sweetener that tastes and acts like table sugar.


“The European market is a tremendous opportunity for tagatose,” said Spherix’s president and CEO Richard Levin. “With news of increasing obesity rates around the world, tagatose will now open new opportunities for European food makers.”

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The EU approval of tagatose is without any restrictions on usage. However, since tagatose is considered to be a fibre and is absorbed slowly and incompletely, food products containing more than 15 grams of tagatose per serving and beverages with a tagatose content of more than 1% must display the same type of informative statement that polyol-containing products are required to carry.

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