Analytical Techniques for Detection of Artificial Sweeteners in Food Products

The increasing use of high-intensity sweeteners in beverages, confectionery and tabletop products has generated a pressing need for reliable, sensitive and rapid methods to verify compliance with regulatory limits and ensure consumer safety. Modern workflows typically begin with sample preparation protocols that may include dilution, centrifugation, solid-phase extraction or protein precipitation, depending on matrix complexity. Chromatographic separation remains the workhorse for multi-sweetener analysis, with reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) coupled to detectors such as diode array, charged aerosol or tandem mass spectrometry forming the cornerstone of laboratory surveillance. Ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC) has further accelerated run times and improved resolution, allowing simultaneous quantification of a broad spectrum of sweeteners from acesulfame-K and saccharin to emerging steviol glycosides. Complementary approaches such as planar chromatography and on-site vibrational spectroscopy offer non-destructive, cost-effective screening, while developments in large-volume injection and mixed-mode columns have pushed detection limits into the sub-nanogram-per-litre range for environmental monitoring. Together, these analytical advances support global efforts in quality control, public health protection and the traceability of sweetener use across diverse food matrices.

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Analytical Techniques for Detection of Artificial Sweeteners in Food Products publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in analytical techniques for detection of artificial sweeteners in food products across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC): A separation technique in which analytes are resolved on a packed column under high pressure and detected by ultraviolet, diode array or mass-based detectors.

UHPLC (Ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography): An evolution of HPLC employing sub-2 µm particles to achieve faster analysis times and higher peak capacity.

LC-MS/MS (Liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry): A hyphenated method combining chromatographic separation with sequential mass analysers to provide structural confirmation and ultra-trace quantification.

HPTLC (High-performance thin-layer chromatography): A planar separation technique utilising high-resolution plates and multi-imaging detection for parallel analysis of multiple samples.

Charged aerosol detector (CAD): A near-universal detector that measures aerosolised analyte particles by charging and quantifying their electrical response, offering consistent sensitivity across non-volatile compounds.

Limit of detection (LOD): The lowest concentration of an analyte that can be distinguished from background noise with a defined level of confidence, typically expressed in µg L⁻¹ or ng L⁻¹.

References

1. Analytical Methods for Determination of Non-Nutritive Sweeteners in Foodstuffs. Molecules (2021).
2. Reagent sequence for planar chromatographic analysis of eight sweeteners in food products approved in the European Union. JPC – Journal of Planar Chromatography – Modern TLC (2022).
3. Optimization and validation of HPLC–DAD method for simultaneous analysis of sweeteners, preservatives, and caffeine in sugar-free beverages. European Food Research and Technology (2023).
4. Application of large volume injection for sensitive LC-MS/MS analysis of seven artificial sweeteners in surface waters. MethodsX (2020).