21 years of making life sweeter

EQUAL® celebrates its 21st birthday this year, following the first introduction in Australia and New Zealand in 1983. To commemorate the 21 year heritage, EQUAL has teamed up with a selection of Australia's leading chefs, including Jeff Turnbull from Sydney's Aqua Dining and Young Chef of the Year 2003, George Calombaris, from Reserve in Melbourne, to develop the EQUAL 21st Birthday Recipe Book featuring delicious sugar-free recipes.

The Recipe Book is available for $5 via the company's website - www.clubequal.com, with all proceeds from the sale of this booklet to be used to assist Diabetes Australia continue their vital work in awareness, research, education and advocacy programs.

A 1995 Australian National Nutrition Survey discovered that while we are generally watching the fat content in our diet, the majority of Australians are ignoring sugar. Research shows that the average adult consumes 123g of sugar per day (equivalent to 35 teaspoons of sugar) with over half of this amount coming from processed foods and drinks.

According to Emma Stirling, an accredited practising dietitian, "EQUAL is a great alternative to sugar and can be utilised in many recipes as a direct substitute to provide a reduced kilojoule alternative." The product line includes tablets (1.5 kilojoules), sachets (8 kilojoules) and now in bulk, known as EQUAL Spoonful, to widen the use in cooking.