Cyclamate synthesis was done for the first time in 1937 by a student of University of
Illinois (United States) name Michael Sveda, who accidentally discovered the sweet
taste of Cyclamate. The patent for Cyclamate was first purchased by Dupont then sold
to Abbot Laboratories. Abbot performed the necessary studies and submitted a
New Drug Application for Cyclamate in 1950. Abbot’s reported interest in those days
was to use the product to reduce the bitter taste of an antibiotic and a pentobarbital
elixir. Cyclamate was initially marketed as tablets that were recommended for use as
a tabletop sweetener for diabetics and others who had to restrict their intake of sugar.
In 1958, Cyclamates were classified as GRAS (Generally Recognized as Safe).
Today, the World Health Organization’s Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives
(JECFA) and the European Union Scientific Committee for Food (SCF) has
independently allocated an ADI for cyclamate of 11 mg per kg bodyweight. A petition
shared by the Calorie Control Council and Abbot Laboratories for re-approval in the
United States still remains with the FDA. |
