Sugar substitute
Name Sweetness ( by weight ) Approval Notes
Acesulfame potassium 200 FDA 1988 E950 Hyet Sweet
Advantame 20,000 FDA 2014 E969
Alitame 2,000 approved in Mexico , Australia , New Zealand and China Pfizer
Aspartame 180 FDA 1981 , EU-wide 1994 E951 Hyet Sweet
Salt of aspartame-acesulfame 350 E962
Sodium cyclamate 40 FDA Banned 1969 , approved in EU and Canada E952 , Abbott
Dulcin 250 FDA Banned 1950
Glucin 300
Neohesperidin dihydrochalcone 1650 E959
Neotame 10,000 FDA 2002 E961
P-4000 4,000 FDA banned 1950
Saccharin 350 FDA 1958 , Canada 2014 E954
Sucralose 660 Canada 1991 , FDA 1998 , EU 2004 E955 , Tate & Lyle
Sweetness -- Artificial
A sugar substitute is a food additive that provides a sweet taste like that of sugar while containing significantly less food energy than sugar-based sweeteners, making it a zero-calorie or low-calorie sweetener. Artificial sweeteners may be derived through manufacturing of plant extracts or processed by chemical synthesis. Sugar alcohols such as erythritol, xylitol, and sorbitol are derived from sugars. In 2017, sucralose was the most common sugar substitute used in the manufacture of foods and beverages; it had 30% of the global market, which was projected to be valued at $2.8 billion by 2021. In 1969, cyclamate was banned for sale in the US by the Food and Drug Administration. As of 2018, there is no strong evidence that non-sugar sweeteners are either unsafe or result in improved health outcomes. When these sweeteners are provided for restaurant customers to add to beverages such as tea and coffee, they are provided in small colored paper packets (see image); in North America, the colors are typically blue for aspartame, pink for saccharin (US)[note 1] or cyclamate (Canada), yellow for sucralose, orange for monk fruit extract, and green for stevia. These sweeteners are also a fundamental ingredient in diet drinks to sweeten them without adding calories.