Sweetener - Definition and Overview

A sweetener is a food additive which adds the basic taste of sweetness to a food.

In Commonwealth English, "sweeteners" is usually used to refer to sugar substitutes.

The most common sweetener is sucrose (table sugar). Other common sweeteners include honey, various syrups, such as maple syrup, sugar beet syrup, and corn syrup, as well as artificial sweeteners including aspartame and sucralose.