Most polyols occur naturally in a variety of food products like vegetables, fruits and mushrooms. They are also regularly present in fermented foods like wine or soy sauces. These polyols are therefore already a constituent of the human diet. 

Polyols or sugar alcohols are polyhydric alcohols produced by hydrogenation or fermentation of different carbohydrates. The typical pathway is isolation of starch from the cereal followed by enzymatic conversion to the proper saccharides which are then hydrogenated in the presence of catalysts to convert the aldehyde and ketone groups into alcohol functions. As a consequence, the chemical structure is made linear, the chemical stability is improved and the tendency to undergo Maillard reactions (browning) is substantially reduced. It also modifies several physicochemical properties such as solubility, viscosity, hygroscopicity and boiling temperature which all contribute to the differences in behavior between polyols.