Special K contains 2% or less of sugar, salt, malt flavouring, sucralose, natural and artificial flavour, and BHT for freshness. Vitamins and minerals include vitamin C (ascorbic acid), vitamin E (alpha tocopherol acetate), niacinamide, reduced iron, vitamin B (pyridoxine hydrochloride), vitamin B (thiamin hydrochloride), vitamin A (palmitate), vitamin B (riboflavin), folic acid, and vitamin B In the US, Special K provides meal replacements in two different forms, protein meal bars and protein shakes. There are eleven varieties of Special K Protein Meal Bars: Mocha Crunch Protein, Chocolate Peanut Butter, Strawberry, Double Chocolate, Chocolatey Chip, Honey Almond, Cranberry Walnut, Chocolate Caramel, Chocolatey Brownie,
Chemistry of ascorbic acid performs the dual function of removing the two acetal groups and ring-closing lactonization. This step yields ascorbic acid. Each of the five steps has a yield larger than 90%. A more biotechnological process, first developed in China in the 1960s, but further developed in the 1990s, bypasses the use of acetone-protecting groups. A second genetically modified microbe species, such as mutant "Erwinia", among others, oxidises sorbose into 2-ketogluconic acid (2-KGA), which can then undergo ring-closing lactonization via dehydration. This method is used in the predominant process used by the ascorbic acid industry in China, which supplies 80% of world's ascorbic