Artificial sweeteners are increasingly replacing sugar and corn syrup in food and beverages. They are cheaper than sugar due to their long shelf-life and high sweetening intensity and have little or no food energy, which makes them a good choice for those trying to limit their caloric intake.  However, they can also resist degradation and persist in the environment.  A recent investigation conducted in Southern Ontario, Canada, shows that some widely used sugar substitutes have passed through wastewater treatment plants and have been discharged to surface and ground waters.

The study showed elevated concentrations of four artificial sweeteners along a 300 km length of the Grand River.  The researchers found that one artificial sweetener, acesulfame, is particularly resistant to degradation.  Acesulfame persisted at measureable concentrations over the study distance and behaved conservatively in the river.  Due to these characteristics, the researchers felt that acesulfame could be an ideal tracer of wastewater in the environment.  In fact, the researchers concluded that, based on the widespread occurrence of acesulfame in wastewater effluents, its resistance to breakdown, and its solely human source, “acesulfame will become the most reliable detector of wastewater presence, dilution, and transformation in surface and ground waters.”  One application is that “the presence of acesulfame in municipal water distribution systems could be a way of detecting areas where old or failing infrastructure has compromised the integrity of the sewer and water systems”. Basically, acesulfame could be used to identify the location of failing sewer lines.

It’s interesting to consider the possible applications that emerge when artificial sweeteners in surface and ground water are seen as a solution and not just a problem.  At Smith Management Group, our goal is to help you to reexamine and reframe your problems and turn them into solutions.

Sources:

http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-artificial-sweeteners-river-20131216,0,4820901.story?goback=%2Egde_2689576_member_5819191546527903745#%21

http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0082706;jsessionid=11393470597F1C6035C85545D8696594

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artificial_sweetener