Sucralose: Is it safe?

Sucralose is a commonly used sweetener in New Zealand. But is it safe?

Sucralose is actually derived from sugar but is 600 times sweeter and contains no energy. Sucralose is stable when heated, making it ideal for cooking and baking.

It can be found in an increasing range of foods like chewing gum, dressings, drinks, desserts, canned fruit and baked items. Used as a table top sweetener and in foods.

Sucralose is also often called number 955 on nutrition labels in New Zealand.

The health impacts

Sucralose caused shrunken thymus glands and enlarged liver and kidneys when fed to rats in extraordinarily large doses. (It’s worth remembering that many food constituents would be harmful at such exceptionally high doses.)

Before the FDA in the US approved sucralose for use their scientists reviewed over 110 studies in humans and animals, many of which were designed to find any toxic effects including carcinogenic, reproductive and neurological effects. They were satisfied it is safe.

NZ Food Safety

Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) undertakes safety assessments before any food additive can be used. It checks the safety of the additive at the levels requested to be permitted in a food and that there are good reasons for the use of the additive. As part of the safety assessment, the likely level of consumption of the additive for different groups of people if the additive were permitted is looked at. This is then compared to the acceptable daily intake. If it is well within safe limits, FSANZ then defines the maximum level of the additive that can be used in particular foods. Aspartame and sucralose are the only sweeteners recommended during pregnancy.

There is more information on the Food Standards Code and the food additives permitted in New Zealand on the Food Safety website.

Acceptable daily intake

The acceptable daily intake (ADI)* is an estimate of the amount that could be consumed every day over a lifetime without adverse effects. It’s worth noting that the ADI is set at a very conservative level. And usual intake is well below the acceptable daily intake.

The ADI for sucralose is 15mg per kg of body weight per day. For a 68kg person, this equates to 15 cans of diet soda.

* Note: This volume is related to the safety of the sweetener and does not imply that such large daily volumes of carbonated drinks are appropriate in a balanced diet. 

The bottom line

Sucralose has its place when used sensibly. It is useful to help satisfy a desire for sweet foods without adding the kilojoules. Used in moderation, it is safe and effective for reducing the energy value in food and beverages that would otherwise contain sugar.