E961 – Neotame

Description

High-intensity, non-nutritive artificial sweetener (7,000–13,000 times sweeter than sucrose) derived from the aspartyl-phenylalanine dipeptide. Functions as a flavor enhancer and is highly heat-stable, suitable for baking and cooking applications.

Risks

Notes

Neotame is a laboratory-created artificial sweetener that's chemically engineered to be incredibly sweet—between 7,000 and 13,000 times sweeter than regular sugar. It's made by modifying aspartame (another artificial sweetener) through a chemical process that adds a specific molecular group, which not only makes it much sweeter but also makes it stable when heated, unlike its parent compound aspartame. This extreme sweetness means that only microscopic amounts are needed to sweeten foods and drinks, making neotame useful in baked goods, soft drinks, chewing gums, and other processed foods where manufacturers want to reduce calories without sacrificing sweetness. Its heat stability makes it particularly valuable in products that are cooked or baked, where other artificial sweeteners might break down and lose their sweetness. Neotame is entirely synthetic and suitable for vegetarians and vegans since it contains no animal-derived ingredients. Importantly for people with phenylketonuria (PKU), unlike aspartame, neotame doesn't break down into phenylalanine in the body, so it doesn't require the special warning labels that aspartame-containing products must carry. It has been approved as safe by major food safety authorities after extensive testing.