Is glycerin a carbohydrate?

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"No, according to the manufacturers of several nutrition bars. Yes, according to the Food and Drug Administration.
Who would you believe?

Glycerin, sometimes spelled glycerine, is a commercial product whose principal component is glycerol. Glycerin is a trihydric alcohol that is derived from animal fats and plants emollients. The terms glycerin, glycerine, and glycerol are often used interchangeably.


"Glycerol and glycerin refer to the same substance," according to James E. Hoadley of FDA's Office of Food Labeling, quoted in the Winter/Spring 1999 Newsletter of the Institute of Food Technologists. "Carbohydrates are polyhydroxy aldehydes or ketones conforming to the general formula (CH20)n and their derivatives... ...three carbon sugars include glyceraldehyde (an aldehyde) and dihydroxyacetone (a ketone). The hydrogenated derivative of both these is glycerin [CH20)3H]. The chemical definition of carbohydrate is clearly inclusive of all three compounds...There is no rational basis to consider glycerin as anything but a carbohydrate," he says.

But several companies that make nutrition bars haven't been counting their glycerin. One half of the 30 nutrition bars that ConsumerLab.com just tested exceeded their claimed levels of carbohydrates, often by large amounts. This organization, based in White Plains, New York, provides independent test results and information to help consumers and healthcare professionals evaluate health, wellness, and nutrition products.

"One product, which described itself as a low carbohydrate diet bar, claimed only 2 grams of carbohydrates, but was found to actually contain 22 grams," the ConsumerLab site says. "A clue as to why this discrepancy existed was a statement written in small type on the product's label indicating that it contained glycerin but that the manufacturer was not counting glycerin as a carbohydrate."

This is apparently CarbSolutions, a protein bar made by Richardson Labs, which says it is "for Low Carb Diets" and has "only 2 carbs," according to a review of the ConsumerLab site in the October 30, 2001, issue of The New York Times. Richardson Labs is a division of Rexall Sundown, which in turn is a unit of Koninklijke (Royal) Numico N.V. of the Netherlands. On April 26, 2001, the FDA sent a warning letter to the president of Richardson Labs saying the bar was misbranded, adulterated, and in violation of the federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.

"This product is misbranded because the label bears nutrient content claims that are not authorized by regulation or the Act," the FDA's warning letter says. "The claims include 'For Low Carb Diets Only 2 Carbs!' (Section 403(r)( 1)(A)). The product is further misbranded because the label bears the statement 'Glycerine, polydextrose, xylitol, maltitol . . .have been omitted from the “Total Carbohydrate” count...' Glycerine, polydextrose, xylitol and maltitol are carbohydrates and must be included in the value declared for 'Total Carbohydrates' in nutrition labeling (Sections 403(a), 403(q) and 21 CFR 101.9(c)(6))."

The FDA has also sent warning letters to several other manufacturers. On January 25, 2001, it told the president of Premier Nutrition that its Premier Eight Ultra Low Car Sports Bar must include the glycerol that it contains in its total carbohydrates. On November 30, 2000, it sent essentially the same letter to the president and CEO of Optimum Nutrition about its Protein Diet Bar. Nevertheless, the Optimum Nutrition Web site still advertises a Protein Diet Bar that includes the statement, "The product contains Glycerol. Glycerol is not a carbohydrate but has a colric [sic] value of 4.32 calories per gram."

But what is the glycemic index of glycerin? No one is sure. But apparently the reason that glycerin is not listed as a carbohydrate by these manufacturers is that glycerin does not effect blood glucose or insulin levels, they say.

The dispute over glycerin is bad enough. But if the FDA bans the term "low carb," it's going to be more difficult for us to find these foods in the supermarket