


Many natural flavors are created in laboratories by food chemists using natural sources.Īccording to the Swerve website, the sweetener is made using “a little natural flavor from citrus,” and it contains no animal products ( 1). The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) defines natural flavors as substances extracted from edible plant and animal parts, as well as those produced using yeast or enzymes ( 4). However, the term “natural” can be misleading. Natural flavors are substances that manufacturers add to products to improve their taste. Instead, they pass intact through your digestive system into your colon, where they support the growth of healthy bacteria ( 3). Oligosaccharides can comprise the simple sugars fructose or galactose, but it’s unknown which of these types Swerve contains.īecause oligosaccharides are prebiotic fibers that cannot be broken down by the human digestive tract, they’re considered calorie-free ( 3). The company that makes Swerve does not reveal which vegetables or enzymes are used in this process ( 1). The oligosaccharides in Swerve Sweetener are made by adding enzymes to starchy root vegetables. They’re found naturally in fruits and starchy vegetables ( 3). Oligosaccharides are sweet-tasting carbohydrates composed of short chains of sugars. However, the erythritol in Swerve Sweetener is created by fermenting glucose from non-GMO corn with Moniliella pollinis, a yeast-like fungus ( 1).Įrythritol has 60–80% of the sweetness of sugar, with only 0.2 calories per gram compared with 4 calories per gram in table sugar ( 2). It’s found naturally in small amounts in some fruits and vegetables. ErythritolĮrythritol is a type of sugar alcohol like xylitol, mannitol, and sorbitol. Here’s a closer look at these ingredients. Then, enzymes are added to starchy root vegetables to break down their starch, resulting in oligosaccharides.įinally, natural flavors are added to replicate the taste of table sugar. Swerve Sweetener is made from three ingredients: erythritol, oligosaccharides, and natural flavor.įirst, erythritol is made by fermenting glucose with a microorganism in brewery tanks, similarly to how beer and wine are made.
