Saccharin: An Accidental Discovery

 

There are several accidental discoveries that made an impact in the world such as penicillin, anesthesia, the microwave, Viagra (Simmons, 2021), sticky-notes, and many others. Among them is saccharin, a low-calorie artificial sweetener discovered in 1879 by researcher Constantin Fahlberg and professor Ira Remsen at a Johns Hopkins University laboratory (How Stuff Works, n.d; Simmons, 2021). 

In 1880, Fahlberg and Remsen published the discovery together, but in 1884, Fahlberg patented saccharin without Remsen and mass-produced the compound (How Stuff Works, n.d; Simmons, 2021). 

Fahlberg was working on testing the purity of a sugar shipment that had been impounded by the U.S. Government when the discovery was made. The scientist took a lunch break and ate a bread roll that tasted significantly sweet. Fahlberg realized that a chemical had been spilled on his hands while testing the sugar shipment, and without washed hands, the scientist proceeded to eat lunch. Fahlberg went back to the laboratory to taste every chemical on his workstation in efforts to identify the sweet chemical, until it was found that a container with sulfobenzoic acid, phosphorus chloride, and ammonia had been boiling earlier that day, creating benzoic sulfinide. Although Fahlberg was familiar with benzoic sulfinide, there had not been a reason to taste it in the past (Smallwood, 2014). 

The saccharin patent listed Fahlberg as the sole creator behind saccharin and left professor Remsen out of it after realizing the enormous commercial potential. Fahlberg had also submitted a patent for a method of creating saccharin in a more efficient and inexpensive way, which supports the discovery had been impacted by economical forces (Smallwood, 2014).

Saccharin was being advertised as a non-fattening alternative to regular sugar due to its low-calorie properties. This is because saccharin cannot be metabolized, meaning it affords zero caloric or nutritional value to the human body. The commercial power of saccharin was immediate, but increased significantly due to the sugar shortages and rationing experienced during World War I (WWI) (How Stuff Works, n.d.; Smallwood, 2014).

Its popularity exploded in the 1960s and 1970s with the launch of Sweet’N Low and large production of diet soft drinks (How Stuff Works, n.d.). 

Aside from economical forces, saccharin has also faced legal issues. The most prolific being in the late 1970s, when saccharin was associated with causing cancer, and one specific study which was later found to be inaccurate, stated saccharin could cause bladder cancer in rats. This study gave birth to the Saccharin Study and Labeling Act of 1977, which required a warning label be included in all products containing saccharin. The label read: “Use of this product may be hazardous to your health. This product contains saccharin which has been determined to cause cancer in laboratory animals” (Smallwood, 2014).

Additional testing on saccharin was conducted and it was later found that due to unique urine attributes in rats, undigested saccharin would form micro-crystals in their bladders, a condition not present in primates testing. The additional testing and its positive results drove the U.S. National Toxicology Program to drop saccharin from its list in the year 2000, and in 2001, both the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the state of California removed saccharin from their cancer-causing substance list, stating that “saccharin is no longer considered a potential hazard to human health” (Smallwood, 2014). 

 References 

How Stuff Works. (n.d.). 9 Things invented or discovered by accident. https://science.howstuffworks.com/innovation/scientific-experiments/9-things-invented-or-discovered-by-accident.htm 

Simmons, A. (2021, January 6). 10 Accidental discoveries that changed the world. Reader’s Digest. https://www.rd.com/list/10-accidental-discoveries-put-to-good-use/ 

Smallwood, K. (2014, May 21). The accidental discovery of saccharin, and the truth about whether saccharin is bad for you. Today I Found Out. http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2014/05/saccharin-discovered-accident/