THE DETERMINATION OF ISOSWEETNESS CONCENTRATIONS OF SUCRALOSE, REBAUDIOSIDE AND NEOTAME AS SUCROSE SUBSTITUTES IN NEW DIET CHOCOLATE FORMULATIONS USING THE TIME-INTENSITY ANALYSIS

The time-intensity method was used to determine the isosweetness concentrations of various sweeteners in milk chocolates. Chocolate is one of the most consumed foods in the world, and this great success can be explained by its particular flavor. In this study, the sucrose was replaced by bulking agents and three different sweeteners (neotame [NEO], rebaudioside [REB] and sucralose [SUCRA]), and four concentrations of each sweetener were evaluated in order to determine the isosweetness concentrations, considering 43% sucrose (SUCRO) as providing the ideal sweetness for milk chocolate. Twelve individuals, selected and trained as judges, determined the temporal characteristics of sweetness of these chocolates. The data collected during each session of sensory evaluation furnished the following parameters in relation to each stimulus: Imax (maximum intensity recorded); Timax (time at which the maximum intensity was recorded); Area (area of time intensity curve); and Ttot (total duration time of the stimulus). The SCDTI 3.0 program was used for the TI analysis. Based on the sweetness best concentrations obtained from the TI results, it is possible to conclude that SUCRA was 570 times sweeter than SUCRO, REB was 200 times sweeter and NEO was 8,600 times sweeter. Considering these potencies, the sweeteners show a similar profile to other foods.