Acesulfame K is 180-200 times sweeter than sucrose (table sugar), as
sweet as aspartame, about half as sweet as saccharin, and one-quarter
the sweetness of sucralose. Like saccharin, it has a slightly bitter
aftertaste, especially at high concentrations. Kraft Foods has patented
the use of sodium ferulate to mask acesulfame's aftertaste.
Alternatively, acesulfame K is often blended with other sweeteners
(usually sucralose or aspartame). These blends are reputed to give a
more sugar-like taste where each sweetener masks the other's
aftertaste, and to exhibit a synergistic effect wherein the blend is
sweeter than its components.
Unlike aspartame, acesulfame K is stable under heat, even under
moderately acidic or basic conditions, allowing it to be used in
baking, or in products that require a long shelf life.
Popular products containing acesulfame K include Diet Coke Plus, Diet
Rite Cola, 7up Plus, Fruit Shoot, Pepsi Max, Coca-Cola Zero and Vanilla
Coke Zero, Pepsi ONE, Lilt Zero, Fresca, Diet Coke with Splenda, Sprite
Zero, Powerade, Trident gum, Wrigley's Spearmint gum,Wrigley's Juicy
Fruit "red" gum, some SoBe products, XS Energy Drink, Propel Fitness
Water, Bundaberg Diet Ginger Beer, Sugarfree Red Bull, Diet Lipton
Green Tea with Citrus, Diet Arizona Energy Drinks, Danone Silhouette
spring water-based beverage, Presidents Choice "PC 0 Cola", Nestle Pure
Life Natural Fruit Flavored Water Beverages, sugarfree Jell-O, Monster
Energy low carb, 4C Drink Mixes, Equal table sweetener, and Girl Scouts
Sugar Free Little Brownies. In carbonated drinks it is almost always
used in conjunction with another sweetener, such as aspartame or
sucralose. The compound is also popular in protein powders used by
athletes and bodybuilders; Optimum Nutrition's Whey Gold Standard is
one brand of powder that uses Acesulfame K.