A New "Good For You Sweetener": Sweet Perfection

Imagine a sweetener having lots of fiber and 1/3 the calories of sugar. Sweet Perfection has that because it is made with oligofructose (92%) (read this for more), fructose (4.1%), mung bean extract (2.8%) (I admit I know nothing about mung bean extract), and acesulfame-K (<1%.)

Well, I did a bake-off with it. I made the My Brownies Recipe, once with Sweet Perfection and once with Splenda. I preferred the Sweet Perfection for taste, and I definitely preferred it for health reasons. I immediately cut up the Sweet Perfection brownies, bagged each, and put them in the freezer so I could pull them out one by one, defrost them in the microwave, and eat with a dollop of whipped cream.

You should also eat your brownie with plenty of liquid! After all, you are getting lots of fiber and your body has to process it. But with all that fiber, you won't be hungry soon either. (And it doesn't compare poorly with Splenda at all, once you get the true calorie and carb counts for Splenda -- see, according to labeling laws, if it has less than 4 calories per serving, you can call it 0. So what you see on the Splenda box label is different than what you see here. What you see here is correct.)

The only problem with Sweet Perfection is the price and availability. It is expensive -- $17.95 for a one pound bag -- and it currently is only available at the Low Carb Specialties website.

(Update! Commenter Catgross did some legwork and came up with this: I have called this company and they have changed the ingredients to 99.5% oligofructose from chickory root, and less than 1 % mung bean and that's it for ingredients. No hidden Natural Flavors of any kind. I have also used this for baking. Great Stuff! But I would mix it with another sugar only because the fiber count is very high, when used alone.)

Sweetener including Splenda and Sugar Nutrition Facts

	Sweet Perfection	Sugar	Splenda Granular	Splenda Packet
Serving Size	1 teaspoon	1 teaspoon	1 teaspoon	1 packet
Calories	6	16	2	4
Total Fat	0	0	0	0
Saturated Fat	0	0	0	0
Cholesterol	0mg	0g	0g	0
Sodium	2mg	0mg	0mg	0mg
Total Carbohydrates	3g	4g	.5g	.9g
Dietary Fiber	3g	0g	0g	0g
Sugars	0g	4g	0g	0g
Protein	0g	0g	0g	0g
Ingredients	oligofructose (92%), fructose (4.1%), mung bean extract (2.8%), and acesulfame-K (<1%.)	Sugar	Sucralose, dextrose and/or maltodextrin	Sucralose, dextrose and/or maltodextrin

Comments

[Tina Lundquist]

I looked up acesulfame-K and found this..

From the book SAFE FOOD by Michael F. Jacobson, Ph.D, Lisa Lefferts and Anne Garland

"Acesulfame K, sold commercially as Sunette or Sweet One, was approved by the FDA in 1988 as a sugar substitute in packet or tablet form, in chewing gum, dry mixes for beverages, instant coffee and tea, gelatin desserts, puddings and nondairy creamers. The manufacturer has asked the FDA to approve acesulfame K for soft drinks and baked goods.

The public is waiting for an artificial sweetener that is unquestionably safe. But this one isn't it. Even compared to aspartame and saccharin (which are afflicted with their own safety publems - see below), acesulfame K is the worst. The additive is inadequately tested, the FDA based its approval on tests of acesulfame K that fell short of the FDA's own standards. But even those tests indicate that the additive causes cancer in animals, which means it may increase cancer risk in humans. In l987, CSPI urged the FDA not to approve acesulfame K, but was ignored. After the FDA gave the chemical its blessing, CSPI urged that iat be banned. The FDA hasn't yet ruled on that request."

From CSPI's web page:

... acetoacetamide, a breakdown product, has been shown to affect the thyroid in rats, rabbits, and dogs. Administration of 1% and 5% acetoacetamide in the diet for three months caused benign thyroid tumors in rats. The rapid appearance of tumors raises serious questions about the chemicalÕs carcinogenic potency."

So in my books this is not a good substitute for sugar. I use stevia leaf.
Tina

[Sherry]

The above post is old? The new packaging (Jan 2008) from SweetPerfection is now showing ingredients of only Oligofructose from chickory root, and less than 1 % mung bean. No fructose and less than the mung bean extract showed above (less than 1% is stated on the package now). Info only. I"m calling them later on today to verify. Good luck.

[Sherry]

Oh, I forgot to add, and NO acesulfame-K. Now, that appears to be a good thing.

[Anita]

Sherry,

Did you ever call them? What did you find out about the acesulfame-K? Definitely not in it now?

[catgross49]

I would like to know, where you got the list of ingredients for Sweet Perfection. I have a bag sitting right here in front of me, and it only lists Oligofructose from Chicory Root and Less than 1% Mung bean for it's ingredients. Are you saying that they are not telling to truth on their bag of sugar, and if so where did you get that info from? Thank You.

PS. I really like using this Sugar, because one I thought it was natural. . .So, I hope you are wrong when you listed the acesulfame-K and fructose. Maybe since you posted they have changed their recipe. If they have I think you need to change what you have posted.

[catgross49]

I have called this company and they have changed the ingredients to 99.5% oligofructose from chickory root, and less than 1 % mung bean and that's it for ingredients. No hidden Natural Flavors of any kind. I have also used this for baking. Great Stuff! But I would mix it with another sugar only because the fiber count is very high, when used alone.

[Katherine Prouty]

Thank you for calling and finding this out!