What is Magnasweet?

Answer 1

* MagnaSweet (TM) - MagnaSweet is a commercial product used by the food processing industry. It's derived from glycyrrhizin which comes from licorice. The manufacturers say it "can be used in a wide range of applications to enhance, intensify and potentiate flavors; augment or modify sweetness; eliminate or modify bitterness; and mask unpleasant aftertastes."

Glycyrrhizin and other compounds derived from it are widely used in Japan for sweetening foods, beverages, medicines, and tobacco. Within the U.S., glycyrrhizin has GRAS status as a flavoring agent, but is not allowed as a sweetener. It seems to be widely used in a variety of applications, so I think that it probably is OK, or we would have started to hear the Horror stories about it. So it's in the Maybe's for now, though if you have a choice of products - one with it, and one with no sweetener, go for the latter. If anyone comes across any indication that it may be causing problems for people, let me know and I'll review it's staus.