Sweetener

Sweetener: 3.5/5 average safety

According to the FDA SAFFA-derived category taxonomy PlainIngredients uses, Sweetener ranks #10 of 24 by ingredient count (52 additives), with an average composite safety score of 3.5 out of 5 across the category. 7 are classified as banned by the FDA.

  • #10 of 24 by ingredient count
  • Category average safety: 3.5/5
  • 7 banned ingredients in this category

52 ingredients in this category.

Where Sweetener sits by ingredient count

Sweetener holds 52 additives among 24 SAFFA-derived categories (inventory size, not a safety ranking).

Sweetener vs all categories by ingredient count

Where this category's ingredient COUNT sits among every non-empty PlainIngredients category

52 10th of 24 higher than 14 of 24 categories

Categories, banded by ingredient count

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more categories. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source FDA Substances Added to Food (SAFFA) Inventory · 2026-09-05

4
Acesulfame K
Low Risk · Approved
3
Acesulfame Potassium (Ace-K)
Mixed · Approved
4
Advantame
Low Risk · Approved
4
Alitame
Low Risk · Approved
5
Allulose (D-Psicose)
Safe · GRAS
3
Aspartame
Mixed · Approved
1
Calcium Cyclamate
Banned · Banned
4
Corn Syrup Anticaking Agent or Free-flow Agent, Drying Agent
Low Risk · Approved
1
Cyclamate
Banned · Banned
4
Cyclamic Acid And Its Na And Ca Salts
Low Risk · Approved
4
D-xylose
Low Risk · Approved
1
Dulcin
Banned · Banned
4
Enzymatically Produced Steviol Glycosides
Low Risk · Approved
3
Erythritol
Mixed · GRAS
4
Glucosylated Steviol Glycosides
Low Risk · Approved
4
Glycyrrhizin
Low Risk · Approved
2
High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS)
Caution · GRAS
4
High Fructose Corn Syrup Nutritive
Low Risk · Approved
4
Invert Sugar
Low Risk · Approved
4
Invert Sugar Syrup Anticaking Agent or Free-flow Agent, Drying Agent
Low Risk · Approved
4
Lactose, Hydrolyzed Nutritive
Low Risk · Approved
4
Licorice Extract Powder (glycyrrhiza Spp.)
Low Risk · Approved
1
Magnesium Cyclamate
Banned · Banned
4
Malt Syrup (malt Extract) Color or Coloring Adjunct
Low Risk · Approved
4
Maltitol
Low Risk · GRAS
4
Maltose Nutritive
Low Risk · Approved
4
Mannitol Anticaking Agent or Free-flow Agent
Low Risk · Approved
4
Molasses (saccharum Officinarum L.) Nutritive
Low Risk · Approved
5
Monk Fruit Extract
Safe · GRAS
4
Neohesperidine Dihydrochalcone
Low Risk · Approved
4
Neotame
Low Risk · Approved
1
P-4000
Banned · Banned
4
Polyglycitol Syrup
Low Risk · Approved
1
Potassium Cyclamate
Banned · Banned
4
Rebaudioside From Multiple Gene Donors Expressed In Yarrowia Lipolityca
Low Risk · Approved
4
Saccharin
Low Risk · Approved
4
Saccharin And Its Salts
Low Risk · Approved
4
Saccharin, Ammonium Salt
Low Risk · Approved
4
Saccharin, Calcium Salt
Low Risk · Approved
4
Saccharin, Sodium Salt Antimicrobial Agent
Low Risk · Approved
4
Salt Of Aspartame-Acesulfame
Low Risk · Approved
1
Sodium Cyclamate
Banned · Banned
4
Sorbitol
Low Risk · GRAS
5
Stevia (Steviol Glycosides)
Safe · GRAS
3
Steviol Glycosides
Mixed · Approved
4
Steviol Glycosides From Stevia
Low Risk · Approved
4
Sucralose
Low Risk · Approved
4
Sucrose Liquid
Low Risk · Approved
4
Sucrose Nutritive
Low Risk · Approved
4
Tagatose
Low Risk · Approved
4
Thaumatin
Low Risk · Approved
4
Xylitol
Low Risk · Approved

Source: FDA Substances Added to Food (SAFFA) Inventory, EU Food Additive Regulations (EC) No 1333/2008

Compare beyond this category

Nationwide categories with similar additive profiles

Two PlainIngredients-derived peer sets for Sweetener: closest on tracked ingredient count (52 here) and closest on mean composite safety score (3.5/5 here). Rows stay link-disjoint so each axis is a distinct neighborhood, not a largest-category strip.

Similar ingredient count

Nearest other SAFFA categories by mapped additive count (floored at ≥10).

8 peers

Similar mean additive safety

Nearest other categories by average mapped safety score (floored at ≥10 scored additives), distinct from the count row.

4 peers

Other Categories

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Every figure on PlainIngredients is rendered directly from FDA, EU, EFSA and U.S. state regulatory records, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.