A FOOD Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) survey of Australians and New Zealanders revealed that Australians and New Zealanders consume intense sweeteners at levels that pose no appreciable risk to their health and safety.
On average, those who participated in the survey had dietary exposures to the sweeteners studied (acesulphame-K, alitame, aspartame, cyclamates, saccharin, and sucralose) of less than 20% of the Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI), the reference health standard for food additives.
There have been increases since 1994 in the number of intensely sweetened foods available for sale, in the proportion of Australian consuming these products and in the daily consumption amount of intensely sweetened soft drinks and yoghurts. However, overall dietary exposure to intense sweeteners, as a proportion of the ADI, has not increased significantly. This suggests that the Code is largely effective at controlling exposure to these food additives.
The only exception to this was in the case of cyclamates.