The recent hike in sugar has forced many businesses to resort to the use of different forms of laboratory made sweeteners as sugar has become unaffordable for many of those businesses.
Findings by Daily Trust on Sunday revealed that substances like saccharin is commonly used as a sugar substitute because it is cheaper compared to sugar recently. It was also gathered that the substance is 300 to 400 times sweeter than regular sugar, thereby making it very economical as one only needs a small amount to get a sweet taste.
Saccharin is one out of many sweetening substances being used currently in Kano State. Another sweetener in use is Ascorine which is a brand of Aspertame, a non-caloric artificial sweetener used in many diet drinks and foods.
It was discovered that this artificial sweetener has been widely used for many years, Malam Aminu Buba, a local tea seller, said a mudu of sugar is now N4000 while a bag costs above N60, 000, which he said is very expensive for people like him running a small business, adding that what has kept their business going is the availability of sugar substitute.
“I had to shut down for some days because I couldn’t operate with the high cost of sugar. I tried but had to close because no one was willing to buy a cup of locally made tea for N150. It was this sugar substitute that gave us the courage to continue with our business because Ascotine of N200 is enough to do tea for weeks,” he said.
The hike in sugar price has made users of sugar to look for suitable substitutes that will save their businesses from crumbling as their purchasing power has been very low, while others are contemplating changing their businesses to what they can run effectively.
It was also reported that many bakeries and local tea sellers have closed down because sugar has become unaffordable while others that choose to remain in business have deviced means of substituting the use of sugar with available substitutes irrespective of their source or composition.
It was also speculated that most of the bakeries are now leveraging on the sugar substitute to remain in business because the hike in the prices of flour and other ingredients is not helping matters and these businesses must continue to make profit.
Samira Malam Ibrahim makes zobo – a popular local drink. According to her, she is still in business because the use of sugar substitutes had presented her a chance to continue to break even in her business.
“I bet you, almost everyone has resorted to the use of this substitutes nowadays. It is clear that small business operators like me can’t afford to be using sugar with its current price. I have been in this business for over a decade and I have never bought sugar at its present price. Therefore, when the substitute was introduced to us, we all grabbed it, otherwise, we would have been sitting at home sulking,” she said.
A visit to the famous Singer market where the sugar substitutes are usually purchased revealed that the substitutes are imported into the country from Asia and a 25kg costs between N100, 000 and N130, 000 depending on the brand one is buying.
Auwal Ibrahim is one of the businessmen who sells these substitutes in Singer market. According to him, they buy from major dealers who get their supply directly from Asian countries. For him, business has never been so rosy. He attributed the high sales recently recorded in the market to the unprecedented hike in the price of sugar.
“Business is going well; all thanks to the hike in sugar price. Everyone is now using our product instead of sugar because N500 worth of sugar substitute will do what N15, 000 worth of sugar would do. That is why our business is recording high patronage these days,” he said.
However, while many people see the usage of the substitute as a blessing, others say they can only use sugar and nothing else. This category of people is of the view that the substitutes are mere concocted laboratory composed chemicals that could harm people. One of such people is Malam Sani Othman who says ‘Sugar is Sugar and he believes in no substitute’.
“I’d rather reduce my sugar intake or avoid sugar completely than to use these substitutes that people are currently using. I am not a scientist, but I know it is not advisable to take something you are not sure of. To me, it is either sugar or no sugar,” he revealed.
Similarly, a Kano-based nutritionist Malam Auwal Musa revealed that the use of the sweetener has some side effects, especially when it is used as substitute to sugar. According to him, “Constant usage of these substances can cause obesity because the helpful bacteria in the stomach can’t break down this substance when consumed. It is also clear that obesity can bring about high blood pressure, diabetes, kidney problem, among others. Therefore, it’s not advisable for people to constantly use this substance as substitute to sugar. People should be very careful about what they take as either food or substitutes,” he said.
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