Cyclamates were especially popular with manufacturers of various types of soft drinks.
Cyclamates are artificial sweeteners developed in the 1930s for use in a variety of industrialized foods and beverages. Considered thirty times sweeter than sucrose, cyclamate is derived from cyclohexylsulfamic acid. Health concerns led to the sweetener being banned in some countries in the mid-20th century, although several nations continue to approve the product for regular use today.
Michael Sveda, a student at the University of Illinois, is often credited with developing cyclamate. Starting in 1937, this sugar substitute became hugely popular in all kinds of foods and beverages, often outshining other sweetener options. Because cyclamate could be produced quickly and cheaply, it became especially popular with manufacturers of various types of soft drinks.
However, research on cyclamate’s effects on the body has begun to indicate that there may be health risks to anyone who consumes the sweetener on a daily basis. As a result of several years of investigation, the US Food and Drug Administration has officially banned the use of cyclamate in commercially prepared foods and beverages. Several major soft drink manufacturers began announcing plans to phase out use of the sweetener before the 1969 prohibition start date. As a result, devotees who feared the change would forever alter the taste of their favorite soft drink were quick to buy the largest. Possible number of soft drinks in cans before the official start of the ban.
Additional research since the ban was implemented has led some to question the wisdom of eliminating regular use of cyclamate. An official petition was made to the FDA in 1982, requesting the lifting of the ban imposed thirteen years earlier. Today, more than fifty different countries around the world allow the use of cyclamate in domestically manufactured products.
Countries that continue to allow the use of cyclamate as one of several approved artificial sweeteners often place limits on the amount of the product that can be used in a single unit of any commercially prepared food or drink. One reason for this action is to minimize the chances of ingesting large amounts of the sweetener during any twenty-four hour period. The limitations often have to do with contemporary research indicating that cyclamate is converted in the body at a faster rate than previously thought.
It is not uncommon for countries that are part of the European Union to allow the use of this sugar substitute. In addition to being used in soft drinks, the sweetener can also be found in milk-containing products and various brands of fruit juices. Research continues on the possible negative effects of cyclamate, along with research on all kinds of artificial sweeteners.