What is Lactitol？
Lactitol is a sugar alcohol that can be used as a food additive. Lactitol is a sugar alcohol that can be used as a food additive. It has approximately 40% of the sweetness of sucrose and is low in calories, making it suitable for use in foods as a sugar substitute, or as an emulsifier and thickener.
Lactitol does not exist naturally and must be produced artificially by the hydrogenation of lactose under pressure. In this process, the glucose part of lactose is reduced to sorbitol, but the glycosidic bond remains intact. Lactitol was first synthesized in the 1920s from lactose obtained from whey and began to be applied in foods in the 1980s. Currently, it is mainly manufactured by companies such as Purac Biochem and Danisco, which is owned by DuPont.

Uses of Lactitol
Due to its stability, solubility, low calorie value and similar taste to sucrose, lactitol can be used in a range of low-calorie, low-fat and/or sugar-free foods such as:
    Chocolate
    Ice cream
    Baked goods
    Soft and hard candies
    Chewing gum
    Sugar substitutes

Its mild sweetness also makes it suitable for blending with other low-calorie sweeteners that are hundreds of times sweeter than sucrose.

Lactitol is produced by reducing the glucose part of lactose. It is not hydrolyzed or absorbed in the small intestine but is instead metabolized by bacteria in the large intestine,

where it is converted into organic acids, carbon dioxide, and a small amount of hydrogen. Further metabolism of these organic acids results in lactitol contributing only 2 calories per gram.