Aspartame (E951)

Aspartame (E951) is one of the markers Open Food Facts uses to classify a food as ultra-processed (NOVA group 4).

What it is and why it counts

Aspartame is a synthetic sweetener about 200 times sweeter than sugar, used in diet drinks and sugar-free products.

Cosmetic additives

NOVA calls these additives "cosmetic": they change how a product looks, feels or tastes rather than keeping it safe to eat. Their presence is one of the two defining signs of an ultra-processed food.

Function

Sweetener
Sweeteners are substances used to impart a sweet taste to foods or in table-top sweeteners.

Functional class definitions from the EU food additives regulation, via Open Food Facts.

More about aspartame (E951) on Wikidata

Where it turns up

Aspartame (E951) appears in 461 of the 40,000 products on this site (1%).

Products containing aspartame (E951)

Showing the 60 most popular of 461.

How the NOVA classification works