Maltitol is a sugar alcohol used when food manufacturers need to replace not only sugar’s sweetness but also some of its physical bulk. In Europe it appears as maltitol E 965(i) or maltitol syrup E 965(ii).
This makes it especially useful in sugar-free chocolate, candy, cookies, protein bars, and fillings. A tiny amount of stevia or saccharin can make a product sweet, but it cannot replace the many grams of structure that sugar contributed. Maltitol can do part of both jobs.
Maltitol is not a high-intensity sweetener
Its sweetness is fairly close to sucrose, although usually somewhat lower. Manufacturers therefore use maltitol in gram quantities rather than tiny milligram doses.
In chocolate, this matters because the sweetener must occupy physical space and contribute to the solid phase. Simply removing sugar and adding an intense sweetener would change body, texture, and processing behavior dramatically.
This is why maltitol can appear near the beginning of a sugar-free product’s ingredient list.
It has fewer calories than sugar, but it is not calorie-free
European nutrition labeling assigns 2.4 kcal/g to polyols other than erythritol. Sucrose contributes about 4 kcal/g.
Twenty grams of maltitol therefore represents about 48 calories under that system, compared with about 80 calories from 20 g of sugar. That is a meaningful reduction, not a zero.
A sugar-free chocolate can still be calorie-dense because cocoa butter, nuts, milk ingredients, or other fats remain.
Its glucose response is usually lower than sucrose
Maltitol is only partly handled like conventional sugar. Some is digested and absorbed, while a meaningful fraction escapes absorption and reaches the large intestine.
As a result, blood-glucose and insulin responses are generally lower than they would be after an equivalent amount of sucrose. That does not make a maltitol food carbohydrate-free or guarantee identical responses among individuals.
Maltitol syrup can also contain a mixture of hydrogenated carbohydrate products rather than pure maltitol alone, so exact composition depends on the ingredient.
Why can maltitol cause gas, bloating, and diarrhea?
Unabsorbed maltitol increases the osmotic load in the intestine and is fermented by colonic bacteria. Osmosis can draw additional water into the bowel, while fermentation produces gases.
Symptoms depend on dose, how quickly the amount is eaten, individual tolerance, and the rest of the meal. A small amount in one snack may cause no symptoms; several servings of sugar-free candy can produce a very different result.
European foods containing more than 10% added polyols must carry a warning that excessive consumption may produce laxative effects.
Sugar-free often means polyol-sweetened
When a chocolate bar, candy, or cookie says sugar-free, check the ingredient list. Maltitol is often present in a large enough quantity to replace much of the sugar’s mass.
That also explains why some people find that eating a large amount of sugar-free candy causes more gastrointestinal discomfort than eating a small serving of the conventional product.
Sugar-free is a statement about sugar; it is not a promise of zero carbohydrate, zero calories, or zero digestive effect.
EFSA’s modern re-evaluation is still ongoing
As of 2026, EFSA lists maltitols E 965 among sweeteners whose re-evaluation remains in progress. In 2023 the agency requested additional genotoxicity data to complete the assessment and has continued collecting analytical and use-level information.
A request for more data is not the same as a conclusion that maltitol is genotoxic or unsafe. It means the modern re-evaluation of an older authorized additive has not yet reached its final opinion.
When maltitol can be useful
Maltitol can reduce sugar while preserving a more sugar-like structure, particularly in chocolate and confectionery. If your goal is fewer calories, compare the finished product rather than the front claim. If you are sensitive to polyols, pay attention to serving size.
The practical rule: sugar-free does not mean calorie-free or symptom-free. Maltitol generally supplies less energy and produces a smaller glucose response than sucrose, but larger doses can have a clear laxative effect.
Frequently asked questions
How many calories does maltitol have?
European labeling uses 2.4 kcal/g for polyols other than erythritol, compared with about 4 kcal/g for sugar.
Why does maltitol cause diarrhea?
Some maltitol remains unabsorbed, draws water into the intestine, and is fermented by gut bacteria, so large doses can cause gas and diarrhea.
Does maltitol make a food low carb?
Not automatically. Sugar alcohols are carbohydrates, and sugar-free foods can also contain starch or other carbohydrates.
Sources
- EFSA — Sweeteners — Estado actualizado del programa: la reevaluación de maltitoles E965 continúa en curso.
- EFSA — Call for genotoxicity data on maltitol E965(i) — Solicitud de datos de 2023 para completar la reevaluación de maltitol; no constituye una conclusión de genotoxicidad.
- European Commission — Non-nutritive sweeteners — Resume el factor energético europeo de 2,4 kcal/g para polioles salvo eritritol.
- EUR-Lex — Regulation EU 1169/2011 — Contiene factores de conversión energética y la obligación de advertencia por efecto laxante en alimentos con más de 10% de polioles añadidos.