Question

Which of the following is used as an artificial sweetener in soft drinks?

• A. Glucose
• B. Sucrose
• C. Fructose
• D. Aspartame

Hint:

Aspartame is the classic sweetener found in diet sodas, recognizable by its warning label for people with phenylketonuria (PKU).

Answer 1

The Correct Option is D

Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
Non-nutritive sweeteners are intensely sweet compounds used in the food industry to replace sucrose (table sugar) to lower caloric content.

Step 2: Detailed Explanation:
- Glucose, sucrose, and fructose are natural, caloric sugars.
- Aspartame is a high-intensity artificial dipeptide sweetener (composed of aspartic acid and phenylalanine methyl ester) that is approximately 200 times sweeter than sucrose.
- It is widely used in "diet" or "zero-sugar" soft drinks because only tiny amounts are needed to achieve sweetness, resulting in negligible calorie contribution.

Step 3: Final Answer:
Aspartame is the commonly used artificial sweetener in diet soft drinks.