Five Approved Artificial Sweeteners

Acesulfame K is commonly blended with other nutritive and artificial sweeteners. Also known as acesulfame potassium or ace K, it is approximately 200 times sweeter than sugar. Acesulfame K has no calories because it is not metabolized by the body. It will be listed in the ingredient statement of a packaged food or beverage as “acesulfame potassium.” In addition to tabletop products, ace K can be found in thousands of a wide variety of oral hygiene and pharmaceutical products, as well as foods and beverages. Ace K is approved as a general-purpose sweetener in the U.S., and is used in such diverse products as dry beverage and dessert mixes, hard and soft candies, chocolate confections, chewing gum, baked goods, dairy products, carbonated drinks and alcoholic beverages.
  • Commercial Names: Sunett, Sweet One and Sweet & Safe.
  • Acceptable ADI: 15 mg/kg** = 30 to 32 cans of diet lemon-lime soda***
  • Can be used in baking

Aspartame is approximately 200 times sweeter than sugar. It is completely broken down by the body into its two component amino acids – aspartic acid and phenylalanine – and a small amount of methanol (wood alcohol). Aspartame has four calories per gram, however due to its intense sweetness, so little of aspartame is used that essentially no calories are provided. Aspartame is approved as a general-purpose sweetener in the U.S., and is used in the many types of foods and beverages. However, it is not stable at cooking and baking temperatures, therefore is not often used in baked goods or dessert mixes.

Important Note:  Products containing aspartame must carry a label advising those with phenylketonuria, a rare genetic disorder, that phenylalanine is present. It is listed in the ingredient statement on a food or beverage package as “aspartame.” The ingredient listing for a tabletop product like Equal reads “dextrose with maltodextrin, aspartame.”
  • Commercial Names: NutraSweet, Equal and Sugar Twin.
  • Acceptable ADI: 50 mg/kg** = 19 to 19 cans of diet cola***
  • Not good for cooking.
Neotame is the newest of the artificial sweeteners approved for general use in the U.S. Like aspartame, it is composed of aspartic acid and phenylalanine. However, neotame is structurally different which makes it about 40 times sweeter than aspartame, or approximately 8,000 times sweeter than sugar. While structurally different, neotame is still metabolized like aspartame. It is completely broken down into aspartic acid and phenylalanine. Because only trace amounts of neotame are required to mimic the sweetness of sugar, it contributes no calories. There are no consumer products available in the US market to date.

Saccharin was discovered more than 100 years ago, which makes it the oldest of the artificial sweeteners. Its sweetness depends on how it is used, and ranges from 200 to 700 times sweeter than sugar. In the U.S., saccharin is approved as a special dietary sweetener it is limited to use in beverages and tabaletop products and has a maxium daily limit of use to 5mg per kg or 9-12 packets**.

Saccharin is available commercially as “sodium saccharin” (most common), “calcium saccharin” or “acid saccharin,” and is sold under such brands as Sweet ‘N Low, Sweet Twin and Necta Sweet. A one-gram packet of a popular tabletop brand has an ingredient statement that reads “dextrose, 3.6% sodium saccharin (36 mg per packet), calcium silicate (an anti-caking agent).”

Sucralose is made from sucrose by a multi-step patented manufacturing process that selectively replaces three hydroxyl (molecularly bonded hydrogen and oxygen atoms) with chlorine atoms. This molecular change makes sucralose 600 times sweeter than sugar. In 1999, sucralose was approved as a general-purpose sweetener in the U.S. The ingredients of the tabletop version of sucralose, Splenda, are listed as “dextrose, maltodextrin and sucralose” on the packet. Sucralose is the most heat stable of all the artificial sweeteners making it popular with food manufacturers. This property has increased the introduction of sucralose into a broad range of foods and beverages previously sweetened with the other approved general-purpose artificial sweeteners.
  • Commercial Names: Splenda
  • Acceptable ADI: 5 mg/kg** = 6 cans of diet cola ***
  • Is good for cooking and baking.
*FDA-established acceptable daily intake (ADI) limit per kilogram (2.2 pounds) of body weight.
**Product-consumption equivalent for a 150-pound person.
***These products usually contain more than one type of sweetener.