Advances in Sweeteners

The subject of sweeteners continues to advance and expand, but the progress that is being made may not be apparent for all to see, owing to changes that have been taking place in how research is funded and the locations where it is now mainly done. In former times scientific advancement was rated as a prized part of the output of academic research laboratories and institutions. Today, however, it is increasingly likely that major advances emanate chiefly from the research and development units of industrial and commercial enterprises and organisations. This means of course that the work becomes more focused on achieving specific marketing objectives, but because of the high level of commitment, cost and dedicated input required, publication of the findings tends to take a lower priority, and may actually be barred if there is any risk of loss of the commercial edge or advantage which has been one of the targets of the research. Thus one of the objects of preparing this book has been to collect together information that might otherwise remain unpublished on advances in the field of sweeteners. Of the fifteen contributions which form the chapters, only 13% originate from academic departments, whereas in earlier books of reviews on similar topics, contributions from academic sources accounted for as much as 50% (Developments in Sweeteners, vols 2 and 3, 1987 and 1989) and 64% (Progress in Sweeteners, 1989).