INS 965 is maltitol, a sugar alcohol (polyol) that tastes about 90% as sweet as sugar but provides fewer calories and does not raise blood sugar as sharply. It is the polyol most often used in sugar-free chocolate because its melting profile and mouthfeel are the closest match to sucrose among the polyols. It is generally vegan and is permitted by FSSAI for specified food categories.
INS 965 is maltitol, a sugar alcohol (polyol) that tastes about 90% as sweet as sugar but provides fewer calories and does not raise blood sugar as sharply. It is the polyol most often used in sugar-free chocolate because its melting profile and mouthfeel are the closest match to sucrose among the polyols.
Brands use it because maltitol gives chocolate, hard candy, and biscuits a sugar-like body and snap without the blood-sugar spike of sucrose. Unlike most intense sweeteners, it provides bulk (so it can replace sugar volume-for-volume in recipes that need texture), and it does not have the cooling mouthfeel that xylitol leaves. The trade-off is that larger servings (typically more than 30 to 50 g in a day) can cause gas or loose stools because some of it ferments in the gut.
INS 965 commonly shows up on Indian packets in these categories:
Maltitol is produced by hydrogenation of maltose, which is itself made by enzymatic breakdown of starch (typically corn, wheat, tapioca, or potato starch). No animal product is used in its manufacture.
FSSAI: Permitted by FSSAI as a polyol sweetener and bulking agent under Schedule I of the FSS (Food Products Standards and Food Additives) Regulations 2011, regulated under the polyol group (sorbitol, mannitol, xylitol, isomalt, lactitol, maltitol) at GMP levels for specified food categories. This is a separate regulatory mechanism from the non-sugar-sweetener (NSS) list that covers saccharin, aspartame, and sucralose. Per the FSS (Labelling and Display) Regulations, products containing 10% or more polyols must carry the declaration 'Polyols may have laxative effect', the same rule applied to sorbitol and tabletop polyol products.
JECFA: ADI 'not specified' for maltitol, established at the 41st JECFA (1993). 'Not specified' is JECFA's safest classification: a numerical limit was not considered necessary at expected use levels. Specifications were updated at the 46th JECFA (1996) and subsequent meetings to cover both maltitol crystalline (INS 965(i)) and maltitol syrup (INS 965(ii)). Maltitol is partially absorbed in the small intestine (more than erythritol but less than glucose); the remainder is fermented by gut bacteria, which is the basis for the laxative-effect declaration on Indian packs at higher doses.
On packets, in recipes, and in conversation, INS 965 is also called:
Last verified: 2026-05-12.