Saccharin, << SAK uhr ihn, >> is a synthetic sweetener. It is made from toluene and petroleum. It is about 300 times as sweet as table sugar but has no carbohydrates and no food value. Saccharin also has a bitter aftertaste.
Saccharin has been widely used in place of sugar by people dieting to lose weight and by people with diabetes. It is made in the form of tiny tablets or as a powder or a liquid. Manufacturers use saccharin in such products as low-calorie soft drinks, sugarless chewing gum, jams, jellies, puddings, and salad dressings. In 1977, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) moved to ban the use of saccharin in prepared foods, after tests indicated that it could cause bladder cancer in male rats. But the U.S. Congress blocked this move. In 1978, the FDA ordered manufacturers to include a health warning on all packages of food that contain saccharin. In 1981, the National Toxicology Program (NTP), a part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, added saccharin to its list of known human carcinogens (substances that can cause cancer). But in 2000, the NTP removed saccharin from the list. The government said that the link to bladder cancer does not apply to human beings. Canada banned the use of saccharin in prepared foods in 1977. But more than 80 other countries approve its use.
Saccharin was discovered in 1879 by Constantin Fahlberg, a chemist at Johns Hopkins University. It has been sold commercially since about 1900.
