Defining, regulating and using saccharin at the outset of the industrial food era (1888–1914)

This paper focuses on the in-depth debates on saccharin that took place around 1900. In numerous discussions among chemists and physicians the sweetener was defined and redefined in a complex way and with a clear lack of agreement among experts. Nevertheless, this fact did not hinder the search for an international agreement on the regulation of saccharin in the food market. This paper analyses these discussions by building on the new trends in material culture studies, and estimates the real impact of medical and chemical expertise on international agreements.

► Many countries passed laws to ban the use of saccharin in the food market.
► I will study the ways in which the material identity of saccharin was defined.
► Controversies involved its physiological action, methods of analysis, flavour, etc.
► Chemical and medical expertise exerted little influence on regulation.