Advantame
A remarkably potent, modern, and safe zero-calorie sweetener.
- Category
- Sweeteners
- Vegan
- Yes
- Vegetarian
- Yes
What it is
An ultra-high-potency artificial sweetener, roughly 20,000 times sweeter than sugar.
How it is used in food
Advantame is around 20,000–37,000 times sweeter than sucrose, making it the most potent sweetener currently authorised — a few milligrams sweeten a litre of drink. It is unusually heat- and acid-stable for an aspartame derivative, so it survives baking and long storage, and it shows strong synergy with other sweeteners and enhances fruit and dairy flavours, letting formulators use less of everything.
Commonly found in- Diet beverages
- Dairy products
- Chewing gum
Health and safety
Approved by EFSA and the FDA; highly stable and extremely low intake levels make it very safe.
EFSA's 2013 opinion set an ADI of 5 mg per kg body weight per day, and the FDA approved advantame in 2014 as a general-purpose sweetener after reviewing 37 animal and human studies. The dossier examined carcinogenicity, reproductive and developmental toxicity, immune effects and effects in people with diabetes, and found none; realistic dietary exposure sits several orders of magnitude below the ADI because of the tiny quantities needed.
Regulatory status
| Region | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Australia & New Zealand FSANZ |
Permitted | Permitted under the FSANZ Food Standards Code. |
| European Union EFSA / European Commission |
Permitted | Authorised for food use under EU regulations (Annex II). |
| United States FDA (Food and Drug Administration) |
Permitted | Authorised for food use by the FDA (often GRAS for standard additives). |
Identification on labels
- E-number
- E969
Worth knowing
It is built from aspartame and isovanillin, which sounds like it should inherit aspartame's phenylketonuria labelling problem. In practice it does not: the use levels are so minuscule that the phenylalanine released is trivial next to what a normal meal contains, so no PKU warning is required.
Conclusion
A remarkably potent, modern, and safe zero-calorie sweetener.
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Open the appEntry last reviewed 2026-07-28.
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