Legislation
Approved for use in the UK since 1983, aspartame is also
approved by all of the leading regulatory authorities
internationally and in more than 100 countries, including the 15
member states of the EU. The World Health Organisation, the Joint
Expert Committee on Food Additives of the United Nations, the Food
& Agriculture Organisation, the United States Food and Drug
Administration and the European Union's Scientific Committee for
Food have all approved aspartame for use in food and beverages.
In the UK its use is regulated by the Sweeteners in Food
Regulations 1995 (revised 1997). The use of aspartame, as with all
low-calorie sweeteners, has implications for the labelling of
products which contain the ingredient and this is covered by the
Food Labelling Regulations 1996.
In addition the acceptable daily intake level (ADI) of 40mg
aspartame per kg of body weight means that to reach that level an
average adult would have to consume more than 13 cans of a drink,
sweetened only with aspartame, each day.