Intense sweeteners survey: your questions answered

The main aim of this survey was to collect information on the types and quantity of drinks consumed by more than a thousand children aged between 1½ to 4½ years old and to record any changes since the previous survey was carried out in 1995. Information from the current survey was also used to work out whether children in this age group are consuming too much of four intense sweeteners (aspartame, acesulfame K, saccharin and cyclamate). To do this, data from this survey was combined with information provided by manufacturers on the level of intense sweeteners in their soft drinks and an average dilution factor for squashes. This factor was determined from a previous Agency survey (Survey of intense sweeteners in dilutable drinks prepared for young children. Food Survey Information Sheet Number 33/03).

Intense sweeteners are substances that taste much sweeter than sugar. They have virtually no calories and are used to sweeten many 'low calorie' or 'no-added sugar' products, such as squashes with no added sugar and diet soft drinks.

Four intense sweeteners were considered: aspartame, acesulfame K, saccharin and cyclamate. These are the intense sweeteners that are most widely used in the UK.

The average amounts of aspartame, acesulfame K, saccharin and cyclamate that children drank were 3.38, 0.92, 1.16 and 4.46 milligrams per kilogram bodyweight (mg/kg bw) respectively. Those children who drank large quantities of drinks containing one of the sweeteners had intakes of 12.01, 3.72, 3.83 and 14.07 mg/kg bw of aspartame, acesulfame K, saccharin and cyclamate respectively.

The Acceptable Daily Intakes (ADIs) for aspartame, acesulfame K, saccharin and cyclamate are 40, 9, 5 and 7 milligrams per kilogram bodyweight per day, respectively.

The results show that young children who drink a lot of soft drinks are unlikely to exceed the ADIs for aspartame, acesulfame K and saccharin. However, children who drink five or more glasses or beakers (averaging about 180mls) of squash containing cyclamate each day, take in twice the ADI of this intense sweetener.

An Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI) is the amount of an additive that can be taken in daily over a lifetime without damaging people's health. It is expressed in relation to bodyweight (bw) in order to allow for different body size, such as for children of different ages.

The ADI is set on a precautionary basis to protect the most sensitive individuals and allow for uncertainties in the scientific evidence. The ADI is not a threshold value above which harmful effects will occur in humans. An intake of cyclamate twice the ADI is therefore unlikely to be harmful for children.

In rats, cyclamate changes into cyclohexylamine in their bodies and, at high doses, can cause slight damage to their testicles. Some humans can also convert unabsorbed cyclamate to cyclohexylamine, so the ADI is set on the safe side to protect the 10-15% of people who convert cyclamate to cyclohexylamine. However, experts have concluded that studies show no effects of cyclamate in humans.

Because the ADI is set to protect the people who are most sensitive to cyclamate, children should not be at risk from drinking even twice the ADI of cyclamate. However, because the ADI is a recommended safety level, it is sensible to ensure everybody’s intakes of cyclamate are below the ADI. Since we know that the main intake of sweeteners by children is from soft drinks, to be on the safe side, carers should limit the amount of dilutable drinks that contain cyclamate given to young children to no more than three beakers (averaging about 180ml) a day.

Any product that contains cyclamate will have E952 or cyclamate (such as sodium cyclamate or calcium cyclamate) or cyclamic acid listed as an ingredient.

Products containing sweeteners must also show the statement 'with sweetener' on the label close to the main product name. Foods that contain both sugar and sweetener must carry the statement 'with sugar and sweetener'.

Previous work by the UK Food Advisory Committee (FAC) showed that soft drinks were the major source of sweetener for young children, particularly drinks made from fruit-juice-based concentrates ('squashes') that are diluted with water. Therefore, sweeteners from sources other than soft drinks have not been considered in the calculations.

The survey also showed that young children drink far more dilutable soft drinks on a daily basis than any other type of drink. On average, young children drink 438ml of dilutable drinks per day, 149 ml of carbonated drinks, 152 ml of powdered drinks and 110 ml of commercial still drinks. Other types of drinks recorded in the survey (such as fruit juice, water or milk) would not contain sweeteners.

The Agency is advising that carers of young children should limit the amount of squash containing cyclamates drunk by young children to no more than three glasses a day. In addition, the Agency is working closely with the European Commission, other Member States, and manufacturers of soft drinks to reduce the maximum level of cyclamate allowed in soft drinks. This will ensure that even young children who drink large amounts of dilutable soft drinks will not exceed the ADI for cyclamate.

Full details are given in the Information Sheet on this survey available on this website. The Information Sheet is available in hard copy from the Food Standards Agency’s Library, Ground Floor, Aviation House, 125 Kingsway, London WC2B 6NH (Tel: +44 (0)20 7276 8181/8182 or email: library&info@foodstandards.gsi.gov.uk).