Artificial sweeteners (AS), also known as “non-nutritive” sweeteners, can be 200 to 20,000 times sweeter than regular sugar (sucrose). Many of the most common ones were discovered by accident—then intentionally developed once their sweetening properties were recognized.
There are many out there, but I’m focusing on the most common ones—those approved in Canada and still widely used today.
Saccharin (1878–1879)
- Who: Constantin Fahlberg, working at Johns Hopkins University in Ira Remsen’s lab
- How: After a day working with coal tar derivatives, Fahlberg went to eat without washing his hands and noticed an unusually sweet taste.
- What happened next: He traced it back to benzoic sulfimide (saccharin), later patenting and mass-producing it. It became widely used during World War I due to sugar shortages and later in products like Sweet’n Low. Though banned in 1977 due to rat studies, it was reinstated in Canada in 2014 after being deemed safe for humans.
Cyclamate (1937)
- Who: Michael Sveda, Ph.D. student at the University of Illinois
- How: While researching fever-reducing compounds, Sveda had a cigarette in his mouth and noticed a sweet taste after handling chemicals and bringing it back to his lips. Curious, he tested the compounds on his bench to identify the source.
- What happened next: The compound, cyclohexylsulfamate (cyclamate), was commercialized in the 1950s and often paired with saccharin. It was banned in Canada in 1970 due to cancer concerns but is still allowed as a tabletop sweetener with warnings and widely used in many other countries.
Aspartame (1965)
- Who: Jim Schlatter, chemist at G.D. Searle
- How: While researching treatments for gastric ulcers, Schlatter licked his finger to pick up paper and noticed a sweet taste from a compound he had just synthesized (aspartylphenylalanine methyl ester).
- What happened next: It became widely commercialized in the 1980s under brands like NutraSweet and Equal and remains one of the most commonly used artificial sweeteners today.
Acesulfame Potassium (Ace-K) (1967)
- Who: Karl Clauss (with colleague Harald Jensen) at Hoechst AG, Germany
- How: While working on chemical reactions, Clauss got residue on his hands or clothing. When he later licked his finger to pick up paper, he noticed an intensely sweet taste.
- What happened next: This led to the identification of Acesulfame K, about 200 times sweeter than sugar. It is not metabolized by the body and is commonly used in combination with other sweeteners to enhance flavour.
Sucralose (1976)
- Who: Researchers at Tate & Lyle and Queen Elizabeth College, including Shashikant Phadnis and Leslie Hough
- How: While developing new uses for sucrose (specifically insecticides), a researcher misheard “test” as “taste” and sampled a newly synthesized chlorinated sugar compound, discovering it was intensely sweet.
- What happened next: The compound, sucralose, was later found to be about 600 times sweeter than sugar and not metabolized for energy. It was approved in Canada in 1991 and by the FDA in 1998 and marketed widely under the brand name Splenda.
As you can see, artificial sweeteners have an interestingly odd accidental history. When knowing these facts, it definitely makes you think twice: do I really want to ingest these?
While many early discoveries came from risky lab habits, today’s versions are supported by extensive safety testing and regulation—thankfully, with far fewer scientists tasting random chemicals these days
This history is well documented across many sources, with Wikipedia being a good place to start.
Next week, we’ll shift gears and look at natural sugar substitutes and plant-based sweeteners as alternatives to artificial options.
Mikkie Nettles-Pollon, Certified Personal Trainer/Holistic & Sports Nutritionist
Not sure where to begin, contact me at info@deemhealth.ca
250-541 -0411.
www.deamhealth.ca
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