What Is Aspartame? The Facts Behind the Headlines
Aspartame has been around since the 1980s. But in the last few years, it’s become a lot more famous than your average food ingredient.
Or infamous, depending on which headline you’ve read.
It’s one of the world’s most widely used artificial sweeteners, found in everything from diet fizzy drinks to chewing gum. It’s also been studied, debated and, in 2023, classified as “possibly carcinogenic”.
Which, without any context, sounds pretty terrifying.
But there’s quite a bit of context hiding behind those two words. So, let’s look at what aspartame actually is, why it’s used and what the evidence really says.
What is aspartame?
Aspartame is an artificial sweetener used to give food and drinks a sweet taste without using the same amount of sugar.
And it doesn’t take much. Aspartame is around 200 times sweeter than sugar, so only a tiny amount is needed to make something taste sweet.
You’ll usually see it listed on ingredients as either “aspartame” or E951. It’s commonly found in diet and zero-sugar fizzy drinks, chewing gum, yoghurts, desserts and tabletop sweeteners.
What is aspartame made from?
Aspartame is made from two amino acids called aspartic acid and phenylalanine.
Both occur naturally in everyday foods containing protein. When aspartame is digested, the body breaks it down into its component parts.
You don’t need a chemistry degree to understand the important bit here: aspartame has been extensively assessed as a food additive, and limits have been established around how much can safely be consumed.
There is one important exception. People with phenylketonuria (PKU) need to restrict phenylalanine, which is why foods and drinks containing aspartame carry a warning that they contain it.
Why is aspartame used in drinks?
Mostly because a little goes a very long way.
At around 200 times sweeter than sugar, aspartame can give a drink a sweet taste without manufacturers needing to add the same amount of sugar or calories.
That made it pretty useful when diet drinks took off, and it still remains a key ingredient in plenty of low and zero-sugar products today.
Not particularly mysterious. Just very, very sweet.
Is aspartame safe?
This is probably why you’re here.
Aspartame is authorised for use in food and drinks in Great Britain and, like other approved sweeteners, has undergone safety assessments before being allowed into the food supply.
The Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) sets an acceptable daily intake for aspartame of 0 to 40mg per kilogram of body weight per day.
That’s not a recommended amount to consume. It’s a safety threshold based on how much can be consumed every day over a lifetime without appreciable health risk.
When JECFA reviewed aspartame again in 2023, it found no reason to change that limit.
So where did all those headlines come from?
Does aspartame cause cancer?
This is where things get a little confusing.
In 2023, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classified aspartame as “possibly carcinogenic to humans”, or Group 2B.
Which, without much context, sounds pretty terrifying. But “possibly carcinogenic” doesn’t mean “this causes cancer”.
The key is the difference between hazard and risk.
IARC was looking at hazard. In other words, could aspartame potentially cause cancer under certain circumstances? Based on the evidence available, it found a possible link, but the evidence in humans was limited.
At the same time, another group, the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA), was looking at a slightly different question: how much risk is there at the levels people actually consume?
Its conclusion was much less headline-grabbing.
JECFA found that the evidence linking aspartame consumption to cancer in humans wasn’t convincing enough to change its existing guidance. The acceptable daily intake stayed at 0 to 40mg per kilogram of body weight.
So, aspartame wasn’t suddenly declared unsafe in 2023.
IARC said there was enough limited evidence to warrant further research. JECFA said there wasn’t enough evidence to change the amount considered safe to consume.
Same ingredient. Two different questions. And quite a lot of headlines.
What foods and drinks contain aspartame?
Aspartame can crop up in quite a few places, including:
- Diet and zero-sugar fizzy drinks
- Some low-sugar or sugar-free foods
- Chewing gum
- Some yoghurts and desserts
- Tabletop sweeteners
- Some medicines and supplements
Not every diet or zero-sugar product contains it, and recipes vary from brand to brand.
If you’re specifically avoiding aspartame, look for “aspartame” or E951 in the ingredients.
Which drinks are aspartame free?
More than you might think.
Water and plain sparkling water are naturally aspartame free. There are also flavoured waters, sparkling waters, lemonades and other soft drinks made without it.
One thing worth knowing, though, is that aspartame free and sweetener free aren’t necessarily the same thing.
A drink without aspartame could use another sweetener, such as sucralose or acesulfame K, instead.
If it’s artificial sweeteners more generally that you’re curious about, rather than aspartame specifically, we’ve taken a closer look at whether artificial sweeteners are actually bad for you.
Does sparkling water contain aspartame?
Plain sparkling water generally doesn’t. It’s water and carbonation, so there’s not much need for a sweetener to get involved.
Flavoured sparkling waters vary.
Some contain sweeteners, including aspartame. Others don’t contain any sweeteners at all.
Which brings us rather conveniently to DASH.
Is DASH sparkling water aspartame free?
Yep.
DASH sparkling water contains no aspartame. It doesn’t contain sucralose, acesulfame K or any other sweetener either.
We make our sparkling water using sparkling spring water infused with real, wonky fruit.
No sugar. No sweeteners. No aspartame.
So, if you landed here looking for aspartame-free sparkling water, you’ve found some.
Meet the DASH sparkling water range.
Looking for aspartame-free lemonade?
Now we’re talking.
If it’s the cold, fizzy, lemony part of lemonade you’re after rather than all the sweetness, DASH Lemon might be right up your street.
Our Lemon Sparkling Water is made with real, sun-ripened lemons and sparkling spring water, with no aspartame, no other sweeteners and no sugar.
Is it technically lemonade? No. It’s sparkling water.
Is it sharp, fizzy, lemony and extremely refreshing straight from the fridge? Absolutely.
Is aspartame better than sugar?
This is where we’re going to resist giving you a dramatic winner.
Aspartame can be used to replace sugar and reduce the amount of sugar and calories in a product. That can be useful, particularly when someone is trying to reduce their sugar intake.
But aspartame and sugar aren’t nutritionally interchangeable ingredients, and whether one is “better” depends on what you’re actually trying to achieve.
For us, there’s another choice. We don’t use either.
DASH gets its flavour from real fruit without adding sugar or sweeteners, because not every fizzy drink needs to taste really, really sweet.
Aspartame FAQs
Is aspartame an artificial sweetener?
Yes. Aspartame is an artificial sweetener used in food and drinks and is around 200 times sweeter than sugar. You may also see it listed as E951.
Is aspartame safe?
Aspartame is authorised for use in Great Britain. JECFA currently sets an acceptable daily intake of 0 to 40mg per kilogram of body weight per day and reaffirmed that level following its 2023 assessment.
Is aspartame carcinogenic?
IARC classified aspartame as “possibly carcinogenic to humans” in 2023 based on limited evidence. This describes the potential hazard rather than the cancer risk at a particular level of consumption. JECFA separately assessed the risk and found no reason to change its existing acceptable daily intake.
Does sparkling water have aspartame?
Plain sparkling water generally doesn’t contain aspartame. Flavoured sparkling waters vary, so some may contain aspartame or other sweeteners. DASH sparkling water contains no aspartame or other sweeteners, only real, wonky fruit.
What drinks don’t contain aspartame?
Water and plain sparkling water are naturally aspartame free, while plenty of flavoured waters and other soft drinks are also available without it. If you’re specifically avoiding aspartame, check the ingredients for “aspartame” or E951.
Is aspartame free the same as sweetener free?
No. A product can be aspartame free but contain another sweetener, such as sucralose or acesulfame K.
Does DASH Water contain aspartame?
No. DASH sparkling water contains no aspartame, no other sweeteners and no sugar.
Is aspartame the same as sugar?
No. Aspartame is an artificial sweetener and is around 200 times sweeter than sugar, so much smaller quantities are needed to create a sweet taste.
