The thing with products that contain Maltitol is that they taste so damn good, but then you're left to solve the mystery ... exactly how many carbs does this item have?
The most dangerous thing about Maltitol is that it's becoming sneakily hidden
Memorise the ingredient number E 965 because often Maltitol isn't even listed by its name. It appears under Sweetener as (965) as well.
Often products that contain Maltitol don't sell. While researching we have seen the following examples of actions taken by sellers of products that contain Maltitol to purposely obscure the information about Maltitol from the consumer:
• websites with blurred nutritional panels
• websites with images that won't zoom in so you can't read the back label
• completely missing nutritional panels / no back photos of packages at all
• cut off nutritional panels - a search of the manufacturer's website shows the remainder of the nutritional panel along with the Maltitol component
• incorrect calculations of carbs where the total amount of polyols / sugar alcohols have been deducted from total carbs, even when Maltitol is the major sugar alcohol listed high up on the ingredients list.
These actions are what is most alarming, because it's removing choice from consumers, who have a legal right to be able to read ingredients lists and nutritional panels. So to counter the lack of information forthcoming from those who sell products containing Maltitol, we have compiled a massive list below of over 65 products that contain Maltitol. Plus, we've broken down their carbs and maltitol grams. In this way, we can raise awareness of products where their carbs are understated and identify those products which have already included Maltitol grams into their carb calculations.
Why is Maltitol put in food in the first place?
Manufacturers are using Maltitol to replace sugar and facilitate a decrease in calories and sugar content in foods. As far as an ingredient performance goes it is well known to enhance taste, nutrition, texture and is a low cost ingredient.
Maltitol and the Glycemic Index
Although maltitol is also a sugar alcohol, its GI at 35 is higher than most others. Xylitol is 13 and Erythritol is 0 GI. Meaning that Maltitol has a greater effect on your blood sugar levels.
Maltitol is always excluded from the carbs number showing
Maltitol falls into the product labelling category of polyols or sugar alcohols and that means they have not been included in the calculation for net carbs. This is because New Zealand and Australia manufactured foods are required by law to state carbohydrate content excluding sugar alcohols.
When you see Polyols on the labels
Food legislation states that sugar alcohols / polyols are to be listed separately on the nutrition information panel. But that can cause issues in products that contain many different sugar alcohols (because they are rolled up into the one number).
Product Labels
This leaves us facing the challenge of detecting Maltitol in ingredients lists and then calculating its mystery carbs by guessing about how many grams are present in the item we've inadvertently consumed. So further below you will see our list of products containing Maltitol including their grams.
What happens to Maltitol in the body?
Maltitol is partially absorbed by the body and on average provide half the energy of carbohydrates. While this has some effect on blood sugar levels, this is not to the same extent as carbohydrates.
Side effects of Maltitol
For some it ends in migraines, stomach upsets or cramps, bloating and gas issues and an undesirable laxative effect.
So how do you count Maltitol?
For every gram of Maltitol, you can add 0.5g of carbs to your macro count and 2gm of water weight to your body used to process the carbs.
A list of products that contain Maltitol
• So their carbs are understated
• With carb grams excluding maltitol + maltitol grams.
Should you find another product containing Maltitol and wish to have that added to this list to raise awareness and protect the health of others, please email details of it to us at KetoStoreNZ@gmail.com
Atkins Advantage Bar 3g carbs + 4.6g maltitol
Atkins Endulge Chocolate Break 2.3g carbs + 8.1g maltitol
Atkins Endulge Chocolate Mint 1.7g + 6.6g maltitol
Atkins Endulge Caramelised White Chocolate 7.1g carbs + 25g maltitol
Atkins Turkish Delight bar 2.6g carbs + 3.1g maltitol
Atkins White Swiss Roll 1.4g carbs + 5.7g
Cracked Zero Sugar Hard Shell toppings
• milk chocolate 200ml 6.7g plus the sweetener is an unspecified amount of maltitol.
• white chocolate 200ml 12.8g plus the sweetener and 2nd biggest ingredient is an unspecified amount of maltitol
For a Maltitol free option: Melt Vitawerx milk, or white bars or Dark Chocolate Chips in the microwave 3x10 seconds stir in between, then pour over ice-cream and it gives you a hard choc ice-cream topping.
Equal Milk Chocolate no sugar (1st ingredient Maltitol) 33g carbs + unknown Maltitol - it's the largest and 1st ingredient in the list and higher than the 23% milk solids.
Double D's marshmallows 0g carbs + 36g Maltitol
Maltitol free are Double D's butter candies, or hard boiled lollies
Maltitol free are Caring Candies
Famous Candy Co Koalas per 100g = 55.3g carbs
Famous Candy Co Soda Bottles per 100g = 55.3g carbs
Famous Candy Co Snakes per 100g = 55.3g carbs
these figures include the Maltitol - and at > 55% carbs, it's not low carb.
Golden Grahams Protein Bar 22g carbs + 12g Maltitol
Grenade Bars Birthday Cake 8g carbs + 10g Maltitol
Grenade Bars Caramel Chaos 9g carbs + 11g Maltitol
Grenade Bars Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough 9g carbs + 11g Maltitol
Grenade Bars Chocolate Chip Salted Caramel 9g carbs + 10g Maltitol
Grenade Bars Fudged Up 7g carbs + 5g Maltitol
Grenade Bars Jaffa Quake 9g carbs + 11g Maltitol
Grenade Bars Oreo Protein 10g carbs + 8g Maltitol
Grenade Bars Oreo White Protein 9g carbs +9g Maltitol
Grenade Bars White Protein Cookie 8g carbs + 10g Maltitol
Healtheries No Added Sugar Chocolate bars per 100g 5.9g carbs + 43.9g maltitol. These aren't even low carb!
Low Carb Life Raspberry White Chocolate Slice per 100g the 7.6g carbs includes the maltitol carbs from their white chocolate chips. It didn't used to contain maltitol and the makers had to change supplier for the chocolate. This is the only product that Keto Store NZ sells that contains Maltitol because we have independently verified that the carbs for the whole entire slice are 7.6g
Musashi Protein Bar White Chocolate Wafer 9.7g carbs + 2.4g maltitol
Musashi Protein Bar White Chocolate Caramel 3.5g carbs + 3.8g maltitol
Musashi Protein Bar White Chocolate cookies and cream protein crisp 10.3g carbs + 3.3g maltitol
Maltitol free option there are some Musashi bars that are maltitol free. Just check the ingredients panels.
Noshu Chocolate Chip cookies mix 27.8g carbs + 4.5g maltitol
Noshu - chocolate baking chips:
98% sugar free chocolate baking chips (orange pack) 7.1g carbs + 47g maltitol
Noshu White baking chips (peach pack) 11.2g carbs + 35g maltitol
Noshu Dark Chocolate Baking Chips (red packet) 6.7g carbs + 47g maltitol
Maltitol free option 95% sugar free (purple pack) Milk Chocolate Melts with chocolate covered strawberries on the art work carbs 6g.
Nuttvia 97% less sugar Hazelnut spread per 15g (1 Tablespoon) 8.7g carbs + 6g polyols, a combo of Malitol as its main sweetener, Maltodextrin which has a GI of 165 and Erythritol. This product will spike your blood sugars and most likely kick you out of ketosis from the maltodextrin.
Sugarless Milk Chocolate 9.7g carbs + 41.8g maltitol
Sugarless Dark Chocolate and Mint 5.2g carbs + 31.8g maltitol
Sugarless White Chocolate 13.5g carbs + 43.5g maltitol
Sugarless Soft Black Licorice 6.1g + 69.9g maltitol
Sugarless Soft Strawberry Licorice 0.2g + 51g maltitol
Sugarless Aura Licorice Swirls 0.2g + 51g maltitol
Sugarless Hard Boiled Candy Lemon 0.1g + 59g maltitol
Sugarless Hard Boiled Candy Blackcurrant 0g + 58.7g maltitol
Sugarless Hard Boiled Candy Butterscotch 0.5g + 52.8g maltitol
Sugarless No Sugar Ginger Range of Candies 0g + 9.1g
Sugarless Cool Jack the Shark Jellies 0.2g + 66.5g maltitol
Sugarless Casino Jellies 0.45g + 66.2g maltitol
Sugarless Fruit and Cream 0.2g carbs + 66g maltitol
Sugarless Charming Snakes 0g carbs + 74.25g maltitol
Sugarless Berry Jellies 0g carbs + 74.3g maltitol
Sugarless Red Frog Jellies 1.4g carbs + 74g maltitol
Sugarless Chews Berry Mix 0.5g carbs + 65.7g maltitol
Sugarless Chews Caramel 0.2g carbs + 66g maltitol
Sugarless Chews Mint 0.1g carbs + 67g maltitol
Sugarless Chews Raspberry 0.8g carbs + 65.6g maltitol
Sugarless Chews Strawberry 0.2g carbs + 66g maltitol
Sugarless Chews Strawberry Cream Jellies 2g carbs + 74g maltitol
Sugarless Chews Vanilla and Choc Mix 0.2g carbs + 66.5g maltitol
Sugarless Be Smart Chocolate Beans 9.4g carbs + 58.3g maltitol
Sugarless Chocolate Crunch Balls 9.4g carbs + 58.3g maltitol
Sugarless White Chocolate Crunch Balls 19.4g carbs + 38.6g maltitol
Well Naturally 99% sugar free Raspberry Jellies 6.7g carbs + 32.5g maltitol
Well Naturally 99% sugar free Strawberry Bites 23.3g carbs + 45.6g maltitol
Well Naturally 99% sugar free Snakes 6.5g + 32.2g maltitol
Wrigleys Extra White bubblemint / peppermint / intense mint sugar free 0g carbs + 29.4g Maltitol
Maltitol free options are the 14 piece envelope range of Extra flavours sweetened with sorbitol and mannitol. Always read ingredients lists!
Zilch Icecream per 100g 4.5g carbs + 6.2g Maltitol
Zilch Chocolate per 100g 4.5g carbs + 6.2g Maltitol
Zilch Wild Berries per 100g 4.2g carbs + 6.5g Maltitol
Zilch identifies Maltitol as 965 instead of using its name on their product labels.
However it is accounted for on its own separate line in their nutritional panels.
