Full list of products aspartame is found in as sweetener ruled carcinogenic

14 July 2023 , 15:02

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Aspartame is commonly found in a variety of soft drinks (Image: Ron Adar / M10s / SplashNews.com)

In a major review by the World Health Organisation (WHO), the common sweetener found in products such as Diet Coke and chewing gum, aspartame, has been ruled carcinogenic to humans.

The artificial sweetener has been used in various food and drink products since the 1980s, including diet drinks, chewing gum, ice cream, yoghurts, toothpaste and medications such as cough sweets and chewable vitamins. However, research on the health impacts of aspartame released yesterday, July 13, showed there was a link between consumption of the sweetener and increased cancer risk.

Experts said that while there was a "possible" cancer risk, the product can be consumed in limited quantities. The WHO's International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) confirmed in the report that aspartame was "possibly carcinogenic to humans."

There are two more serious categories used by the IARC to determine the risk of substances: "possibly carcinogenic to humans" and "carcinogenic to humans." The Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) said the acceptable daily intake would be 40mg/kg body weight - this means a person weighing 70kg would have to drink between nine and 14 cans of diet fizzy drink in order to exceed their daily safe intake.

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Sweetener tablets are a common source of aspartame, as is chewing gum (Hendrik Schmidt/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images)

The news prompted concern among many, who opt for diet options believing they are the healthier choice. But just what products is aspartame found in? We've broken down a full list of products containing the artificial sweetener below.

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Sweeteners

Aspartame is used in table top sweeteners, often used in place of sugar. The main brands which contain aspartame are:

Nutrasweet
Equal
Sugar Twin

A person would need to consume 75 packets in a day to reach the acceptable daily intake of aspartame, with each sweetener pack being assumed as being as sweet as two teaspoons, eight grams, of sugar. However, consumers are likely to use less of these sweeteners than table sugar as it's around 200 times sweeter.

Sugar-free drinks

One of the most common uses of aspartame is in sugar-free fizzy drinks. Many brands offering "diet" or "low sugar" versions of their popular beverages will use aspartame to give the sweet taste in place of regular sugar, however, there are some "full sugar" options which contain aspartame. Fizzy drinks containing aspartame include:

Diet Coke
Diet Coke No Caffeine
Diet Coke Twisted Strawberry
Diet Coke Sublime Lime
Coke Zero
Coke Zero Cherry
Coke Zero Vanilla
Coke Zero Caffeine Free
Oasis Summer Fruits
Oasis Citrus Punch
Oasis Citrus Punch Zero
Oasis Summer Fruits Zero
Fanta Fruit Twist
Fanta Fruit Twist Zero
Fanta Grape Zero
Fanta Lemon
Fanta Orange Zero
Fanta Raspberry Zero
Fanta Pineapple & Grapefruit
Fanta Zero Sugar Strawberry & Kiwi
Fanta Watermelon Zero
Dr Pepper
Dr Pepper Zero
Sprite
Sprite Zero
Lilt Zero

Full list of products aspartame is found in as sweetener ruled carcinogenic

It's not just diet drinks that contain aspartame, but it is more common in low sugar options (PA)

Powerade Berry & Tropical
Schweppes Slimline Tonic Water
Schweppes Slimline Bitter Lemon Tonic
Schweppes Lemonade
Schweppes Slimline Tonic Water with Lemon Zest
Schweppes Elderflower Slimline Tonic Water
Pepsi Max
Pepsi Max Raspberry
Pepsi Max Cherry
Pepsi Max Lime
Pepsi Max No Caffeine
Diet Pepsi
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Diet Pepsi Caffeine Free
Diet Mtn Dew
Caffeine Free Diet Mtn Dew
Mtn Dew Zero Sugar
Mtn Dew Energy Baja Blast
Mtn Dew Energy Berry Blitz
Mtn Dew Energy Cherry Lime Lift
Mtn Dew Energy Orange Breeze
Mtn Dew Energy Peach Mango Dawn
Mtn Dew Energy Pomegranate Blue Burst
Mtn Dew Energy Strawberry Melon Sharp
Mtn Dew Energy Tropical Sunrise
Mtn Dew Summer Freeze Zero Sugar
Mtn Dew Spark Zero Sugar
Mtn Dew Major Melon Zero Sugar
Mtn Dew Frost Bite Zero Sugar
Mtn Dew Pitch Black Zero Sugar
Diet Mug Root Beer
Sierra Mist Zero Sugar
Starry Zero Sugar
Tropicana Light Lemonade
Lipton Diet Green Tea Citrus
Lipton Diet Green Tea Mixed Berry

Gum, mints and sweets

Another common use for aspartame is sugar-free chewing gum and mints. Used to sweeten the flavour, while avoiding adding sugar, these are some of the main and most popular products containing the sweetener:

5 Gum Spearmint Rain Sugarfree
5 Gum Peppermint Cobalt Sugarfree Chewing Gum
5 Gum Wintermind Ascent Sugarfree Chewing Gum
5 Gum Watermelon Prism Sugarfree Chewing Gum
5 Gum Respawn Cool Mint Chewing Gum
5 Gum React Mint Sugarfree Chewing Gum
5 Gum Respawn Pomegranate Watermelon Chewing Gum
5 Gum Respawn Tropical Punch Chewing Gum
5 Gum RPM Mint Sugarfree Chewing Gum
5 Gum Strawberry Flood Sugarfree Chewing Gum
5 Gum Sweet Mint Sugarfree Chewing Gum
Extra Apple Flavour Sugarfree Chewing Gum
Extra Blueberry Flavour Sugarfree Chewing Gum
Extra Cool Breeze Chewing Gum Sugarfree
Extra Ice Peppermint Chewing Gum Sugarfree
Extra Ice Spearmint Chewing Gum Sugarfree
Extra Melon Mint Flavour Sugarfree Chewing Gum

The World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer analyzed the potential carcinogenic effects of the sweetener (Getty Images)

Extra Peppermint Chewing Gum, Sugarfree
Extra Refreshers Bubblemint Sugarfree Chewing Gum
Extra Refreshers Spearmint Sugarfree Chewing Gum
Extra Refreshers Strawberry Lemon Flavour Sugarfree Chewing Gum
Extra Refreshers Tropical Flavour Sugarfree Chewing Gum
Extra Spearmint Chewing Gum Sugarfree
Extra Strawberry Chewing Gum Sugarfree
Extra Watermelon Flavour Sugarfree Chewing Gum
Extra White Bubblemint Chewing Gum Sugarfree
Extra White Chewing Gum Sugarfree
Altoids Arctic Strawberry Sugarfree Mints
Juicy Fruit Original Gum
Life Savers Pep-O-Mint Sugar Free Mints
Life Savers Wint-O-Green Sugar Free Mints
Jolly Rancher Zero Sugar
Ice Breakers Sours Watermelon Green Apple Tangerine Sugar Free Breath Mints
Ice Breakers Cherry Limeade
Ice Breakers Duo Strawberry Sugar Free Breath Mints
Ice Breakers Coolmint Sugar Free Breath Mints
Ice Breakers Pina Colada Sugar Free Breath Mints
Ice Breakers Sour Mints Mixed Berry, Strawberry, Cherry

Cough drops

Whether you've got a sore throat or a tickle that just won't go away, if you're planning on taking a cough drop to soothe it then you might think of reaching for the sugar-free version. But these can also contain aspartame, here are some of the biggest brands: