Tag: Sweet and low

The color of a sweetener packet is often a reliable indicator of its contents, and for decades, a pink packet has signaled one of the world's most recognized sugar substitutes. This iconic packaging is how many people identify Sweet and Low, but the sweetener itself is a white, granulated powder, not sugar.

Over 500 billion packets of Sweet'N Low have been produced since its inception. But before it became a ubiquitous table-top sweetener, the question of what was Sweet and Low originally made for reveals a tale of post-war enterprise and a shift towards calorie-free living.

According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations, products with fewer than 5 calories per serving can be labeled as "zero calorie". This is why one pack of Sweet and Low, while containing fewer than 4 calories, can be marketed as a zero-calorie sweetener.

First introduced in 1957, Sweet and Low is one of the oldest artificial sweeteners on the market. The core ingredients in Sweet and Low sweetener are dextrose, saccharin, cream of tartar, and calcium silicate, a specific combination designed to provide sweetness without the calories of sugar. While the main sweetening agent is saccharin, the other components play critical roles in its function and form, from a bulking agent to an anti-caking agent.

According to the manufacturer, a single packet of Sweet'N Low contains approximately 0.9 grams of carbohydrates. While often perceived as a zero-carb sugar substitute, the presence of an added bulking agent, dextrose, means the popular pink packets do, in fact, contain a small amount of carbohydrates. This is a crucial distinction for those on very strict low-carb or ketogenic diets, who must account for every gram.

According to U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) labeling regulations, a product can be labeled as having "zero calories" if it contains fewer than 5 calories per serving. This is the key to understanding why your pink packet of Sweet'N Low, while marketed as calorie-free, isn't actually a source of exactly zero calories.

While Sweet'N Low markets itself as a zero-calorie sweetener, a standard packet contains dextrose, a form of sugar, which violates the strict rules of a carnivore diet. This is one of many reasons why the question, 'Is sweet and low ok for carnivore diet?', has a definitive and clear answer for purists.