Calculation of the intake of three intense sweeteners in young insulin-dependent diabetics.

In 1994, European Directive 94/35/CE authorised the use as food additives of five intense sweeteners for which Acceptable Daily Intakes (ADI) were established. The same directive stipulated that member states should organise a monitoring system to determine the consumption of these substances. Diabetic children are normally considered to constitute a group with a high consumption of sweeteners (European Commission, 1998. Report on Methodology for the Monitoring of Food Additives Intake across the European Union. Report of the Scientific Cooperation, Task 4.2 SCOOP/INT/REPORT/2. European Commission Directorate General III, Brussels.). A stepwise approach to the food additive intake in the general population had shown that three of the five authorised intense sweeteners (aspartame, saccharin and acesulfame K) are used at particularly high levels in sugar-free foods and are also very commonly utilised as table-top sweeteners. This paper presents the results of a food intake survey conducted in a group of French, insulin-dependent children in 1997, aimed at estimating the Theoretical Maximum Daily Intake (TMDI) for these three sweeteners and comparing this with the relevant ADI values. A 5-day diary questionnaire was used to estimate the intake of sugar-free, artificially sweetened foods and table-top sweeteners. When assessing the intake of each additive, all sugar-free products were assumed to be sweetened using a single sweetener at its maximum authorised level. This study was performed in five age groups, and based on the mean and 97.5th percentile of the distribution of consumption, demonstrated that it was unlikely that total exposure could rise above the ADI.