E-numbers / Sweeteners / E969
An ultra-high-intensity sweetener made from aspartame, used in tiny amounts to sweeten food and drink without sugar.
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Contains phenylalanine.
Why it’s worth knowing. Contains phenylalanine. People with phenylketonuria (PKU) cannot process phenylalanine and must avoid it. UK law requires a phenylalanine warning on any product containing advantame.
Advantame is a synthetic high-intensity sweetener derived from aspartame and isovanillin (a compound also found in vanilla). It is approximately 20,000 times sweeter than sucrose by weight, making it one of the most potent approved sweeteners. Because of the extreme potency, only trace quantities are needed per serving.
It binds to the same sweet taste receptors on the tongue as sugar, producing a sweet sensation without contributing calories. At the minute concentrations used in food, it passes through the body largely intact. Like aspartame, it yields phenylalanine on metabolic breakdown, which is why the same PKU warning applies.
Permitted across a broad range of food categories including soft drinks, flavoured waters, dairy-based drinks, fruit nectars, jams, confectionery, chewing gum, table-top sweeteners, sauces, dressings, and cereal-based desserts. Because only tiny amounts are needed, it is often blended with other sweeteners rather than used alone. On a UK label it appears as 'advantame' or 'E969'. EU Regulation 1333/2008 Annex II lists the specific categories and maximum permitted levels.
Advantame is metabolised to release phenylalanine, the same amino acid produced by aspartame. People with phenylketonuria (PKU) lack the enzyme to break down phenylalanine safely, so accumulation causes neurological harm. UK food law mandates a 'contains a source of phenylalanine' declaration on any product containing advantame. For the general population the quantities released at permitted use levels are nutritionally insignificant.
Advantame yields phenylalanine on hydrolysis, triggering the same mandatory PKU labelling requirement as aspartame under UK and EU food information law.
EFSA's Panel on Food Additives reviewed the full toxicology dossier for advantame in 2013. Studies covering genotoxicity, carcinogenicity, reproductive toxicity, and developmental toxicity were assessed. No genotoxicity or carcinogenicity signal was found. The key effect used to set the safety limit was maternal gastrointestinal disturbance in a rabbit developmental study at high doses. EFSA set an acceptable daily intake of 5 milligrams per kilogram of body weight per day, derived by applying a 100-fold safety factor to that no-effect dose.
EFSA found no concern for genotoxicity or carcinogenicity in its comprehensive review of advantame toxicology studies.
The Panel established an ADI of 5mg/kg body weight/day, based on a NOAEL of 500mg/kg body weight/day for maternal toxicity in rabbits and a 100-fold uncertainty factor.
Conservative exposure estimates for high-consuming adults and children were well below the established ADI at the proposed use levels.
Broader research into high-intensity sweeteners has raised questions about whether regular consumption affects gut bacteria or insulin signalling, though this evidence is largely observational or based on other sweeteners. Advantame-specific data in humans is limited. Most studies on sweetener-microbiome interactions have used saccharin, sucralose, or aspartame, and findings have not been directly confirmed for advantame.
A 2022 randomised trial found that certain non-sugar sweeteners, including saccharin and sucralose, altered gut microbiome composition and glucose tolerance in some participants, though advantame was not included in the study.
People with phenylketonuria (PKU) must avoid it entirely, as the product releases phenylalanine. UK law requires the label to state 'contains a source of phenylalanine'. People managing phenylalanine intake for other medical reasons should also avoid it. Look for 'advantame' or 'E969' in the ingredients list.
Advantame is one of the newest approved sweeteners, authorised after a full EFSA toxicology review in 2013. The dossier covered carcinogenicity, genotoxicity, developmental and reproductive toxicity, and found no signal at any of those endpoints. The practical safety concern in the general population sits almost entirely in one place: phenylalanine for people with PKU. For everyone else, the amounts present in food are extremely small by design. The broader question of what repeated high-intensity sweetener consumption does to the gut microbiome or metabolic signalling is live research, but human data specific to advantame are currently absent from that literature.
No. E969 Advantame is authorised in the UK under assimilated EU Regulation 1333/2008 and is listed on the UK FSA's register of approved food additives. It has been permitted since the end of the Brexit transition period on 31 December 2020.
Advantame is derived from aspartame and releases phenylalanine when metabolised. UK food information law requires any product containing advantame to carry the declaration 'contains a source of phenylalanine' so that people with phenylketonuria (PKU) can identify and avoid it.
It can be used in soft drinks, flavoured waters, dairy drinks, fruit nectars, jams, confectionery, chewing gum, table-top sweeteners, sauces, dressings, and cereal-based desserts, among other categories. Because it is so much sweeter than sugar, only trace amounts are used, and it is often blended with other sweeteners. It appears on labels as 'advantame' or 'E969'.
Yes. Advantame is a synthetic compound with no animal-derived ingredients in the additive itself. It is considered vegan. Individual products containing it should be checked separately for other animal-derived ingredients.
Last reviewed: 20 June 2026
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