Food safety

Saccharin is safe for human consumption, says EFSA

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has concluded that saccharin is safe for human consumption and increased the acceptable daily intake (ADI) from 5 to 9 mg/kg of body weight per day. The ADI, which reflects the safe amount of a substance that can be consumed daily over a lifetime, covers saccharin and its sodium, calcium and potassium salts (E 954). The previous ADI was set in 1995 based on the increased incidence of bladder tumours observed in rat studies. However, there is now scientific agreement that these tumours are specific to male rats and not relevant to humans.