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Aspartame and phenylketonuria (PKU)

In the body: People with phenylketonuria cannot clear phenylalanine, which builds up and harms the brain.

Not rated by dose: a flag on one reviewed food, Diet cola.

For some people. Allergies, medicines and medical conditions: a flag for the people the source names, no wider.

See also: Aspartame

All hazards

The reference value and where it comes from

  • The agency’s figureset by the agency, not entered as a figure here: see the basis
  • Basisacceptable daily intake (ADI): what you can take in every day for life
    EFSA 2013: the aspartame acceptable daily intake (ADI) does not apply to phenylketonuria; aspartame is 56% phenylalanine by mass factor; Health Canada requires a phenylalanine label statement (person flag, no numeric limit)
  • Applies topeople with phenylketonuria
  • Source EFSA 2013

Reviewed foods that carry it

1 reviewed food carries it; none is rated by dose.

How often you can eat it

No food here is rated by dose. Each line says why it’s listed: a flag for the people the source names, advice on handling it, or context.

Flags and context, not rated by dose

  • Diet cola

    Worth knowing

    66.7 mg
    per serving
    phenylalanine

    EFSA 2013 · grade B

    How it’s rated

    Flagged for people with phenylketonuria: EFSA says the acceptable daily intake is not applicable to them, and they require total control of dietary phenylalanine. Aspartame is fully broken down into phenylalanine, aspartic acid and methanol, and EFSA's factor from aspartame to phenylalanine is 56%, so one serving's 119 mg of aspartame carries about 67 mg of phenylalanine (Foodtopsy's arithmetic). Health Canada requires a bold statement that aspartame contains phenylalanine. The flag follows the label, not the amount.

    Intake: one 375 mL reference amount (375.4 g at 1.00101 g/mL) a day, 70 kg adult · Level in the food: 317.8 mg/L (diet cola, 1.00101 g/mL) (aspartame, as the aspartame row, n = 3)

    Measured on: Castellanos and Sanchez 2025, J Xenobiot 15(5):164, Table 3: three commercial cola sodas labelled 'zero' or 'light' with no sugars added, bought in Spain (2024), four independent lots each, HPLC with UV/fluorescence detection; mean of the three products' lot means

Sources