The sweetener industry continues to evolve more by consumption than invention. Just as sugar was transformed from a luxury item to a standard on the American table, and then made huge inroads into processed foods, new high-intensity sweeteners are carving out solid ground in the sweetener tool chest.

Once valued for their thickening and textural properties, these starches— starches that have not been treated to change their inherent properties—were pushed aside by the modified starches that better withstand the rigors of modern food-processing techniques, including freeze/thaw, shear, pressure, heat, refrigeration, and other assaults, allowing them to extend product shelflife.