Sweet’N Low is a zero-calorie sweetener made primarily from saccharin, a synthetic compound that tastes 200 to 700 times sweeter than table sugar. Each pink packet also contains dextrose and cream of tartar as bulking agents, since the amount of saccharin needed to sweeten a cup of coffee is so tiny it would be almost invisible without them.
What’s Inside the Pink Packet
A standard Sweet’N Low packet contains three ingredients: nutritive dextrose, cream of tartar (potassium bitartrate), and sodium saccharin. Dextrose is a simple sugar derived from corn that gives the packet enough physical bulk to tear open and pour. Cream of tartar, the same powder used in baking, acts as a stabilizer. The saccharin itself makes up only a small fraction of the packet’s weight, but because it is hundreds of times sweeter than sugar, that tiny amount does all the work.
Despite containing dextrose (which is technically a sugar), the total calorie count rounds to zero or near zero per packet because the quantity is so small. This is what allows Sweet’N Low to be marketed as a zero-calorie sweetener.
How Saccharin Creates Sweetness
Saccharin is a completely synthetic molecule first discovered in 1879. It has no nutritional value and passes through the body without being broken down for energy. Your taste buds register it as intensely sweet, anywhere from 200 to 700 times sweeter than table sugar depending on the concentration. At higher concentrations, some people detect a mild metallic or bitter aftertaste, which is one reason the packet blends saccharin with dextrose and cream of tartar.
Unlike some other artificial sweeteners, saccharin is heat-stable. It doesn’t break down at cooking or baking temperatures, so it holds its sweetness in hot coffee, baked goods, and cooked sauces. It also dissolves readily in liquids, making it practical for both hot and cold drinks.
The Cancer Scare and What Happened
For decades, Sweet’N Low packets carried a warning label linking saccharin to cancer. The concern came from studies in the 1970s showing that very high doses of saccharin caused bladder tumors in lab rats. Congress responded by requiring a warning on all saccharin-containing products starting in 1977.
Later research revealed that the mechanism behind those rat tumors doesn’t apply to humans. Rats process saccharin differently, producing a chemical reaction in their urine that irritates the bladder lining in a way that simply doesn’t happen in people. In 2000, the National Toxicology Program of the National Institutes of Health concluded that saccharin should be removed from the list of potential carcinogens. The warning labels came off, and saccharin remains approved by the FDA as a food additive today.
How Much Is Considered Safe
The FDA sets the acceptable daily intake for saccharin at 15 milligrams per kilogram of body weight. For a 132-pound person, that works out to roughly 45 packets per day before reaching the limit, using the FDA’s assumption that one packet provides sweetness equal to about two teaspoons of sugar. Most people use a few packets a day at most, which falls well within that threshold.
This limit is set with a wide safety margin built in, meaning the actual level where problems might appear in humans is far higher. The acceptable daily intake represents a conservative fraction of the amount shown to cause no adverse effects in studies.
Where Sweet’N Low Comes From
Sweet’N Low was created in 1957 by Benjamin Eisenstadt and his son at Cumberland Packing Corporation in Brooklyn, New York. Eisenstadt had previously pioneered the idea of putting sugar into individual packets for restaurants, but he never patented the concept. Competitors quickly copied it. That experience pushed him to develop something new, a low-calorie saccharin blend in a distinctive pink packet that could be branded and protected.
The product became one of the most recognizable tabletop sweeteners in the United States. Production remained at the Brooklyn facility for nearly 60 years before eventually moving. Today, Sweet’N Low is available in packets, bulk bags, and liquid form, all built around the same saccharin base with the same supporting ingredients.
How It Compares to Other Sweeteners
- Splenda (sucralose): Also zero-calorie and heat-stable, but made from a modified sugar molecule rather than a fully synthetic one. It uses maltodextrin as its bulking agent instead of dextrose.
- Equal (aspartame): Breaks down at high temperatures, making it a poor choice for baking. It also contains phenylalanine, which matters for people with the rare genetic condition PKU.
- Stevia: Derived from a plant rather than synthesized in a lab. It has a different aftertaste profile that some people describe as licorice-like.
Sweet’N Low’s main practical advantages are its heat stability and long shelf life. Its main drawback is the slight bitter or metallic edge that some people taste, particularly when using larger amounts.