The Sweeteners Directive

In the European Union, the harmonisation of legislation – that is, ensuring that all Member States have similar laws and regulations - is a continuous process. The harmonisation of legislation on foodstuffs, and food additives in particular, is an exceptional achievement. Directive 94/35/EC of the European Parliament and the Council on sweeteners in foodstuffs, (also known as the "Sweeteners Directive"), was adopted on 30th June 1994. This Directive has been amended 4 times to keep pace with technological developments in the area of sweeteners. The articles of this legislation contain explanations and special provisions for the use of sweeteners in foods and beverages; the annex of this Directive indicates the maximum levels of use of each low-calorie sweetener in a given food category.

More recently, the European Parliament and the Council adopted a framework regulation (Regulation 1333/2008), which will consolidate all current authorisations for sweeteners and food additives into one legal text, from January 2011. Until then, the sweetener authorisations listed in the annex of the Sweeteners Directive 94/35 remain applicable.

The following low calorie sweeteners are currently authorised in the EU: acesulfame-K (E950), aspartame (E951), aspartame-acesulfame salt (E962), cyclamate (E952), neohesperidine DC (E959), neotame (E961), saccharin (E954), sucralose (E955) and thaumatin (E957).

Each low-calorie sweetener is authorised according to set use levels for that particular sweetener, irrespective of whether it is used singly or in combination with other low-calorie sweeteners. The amounts of food additives permitted in different foods and beverages are established so that even the average daily intake by high consumers over prolonged periods of time would not exceed the acceptable daily intake.