Aspartame

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    Last Updated: April 2, 2024

    Aspartame is a nonnutritive artificial sweetener. It is used as a sugar substitute in soft drinks, candy, chewing gum, and low-calorie foods and is also available as a tabletop sweetener (e.g., Canderel, Hermesetas Gold, NutraSweet, and Pal Sweet).

    Overview

    Dosage information

    Dosage Information

    In the US, aspartame and other artificial sweeteners are regulated by the FDA, and products containing aspartame must be approved before they can be used. Because of the potential health risks of aspartame consumption, the FDA has set an acceptable daily intake, which is the maximum amount considered safe to consume each day over a person's lifetime.

    In the US, the FDA has set the acceptable daily intake for aspartame at 50 milligrams per kilogram of body weight per day (mg/kg/day). Meanwhile, the EFSA and the Joint Food and Agriculture Organization and World Health Organisation Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) have set the acceptable daily intake for aspartame at 40 mg/kg/day.[2][3]

    To put these acceptable daily intake values into context, a person weighing 70 kg would have to consume approximately 9–14 cans of diet soda per day to exceed an intake level of 40 mg/kg/day.

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    Aspartame: Up-to-date scientific evidence.