Soda and drinks manufacturers use a range of ingredients to produce the delicious thirst-quenching beverages that appear on our shelves. One of these ingredients is Acesulfame Potassium, an artificial sweetener which is used as a substitute for sugar. It is 200 times sweeter than the sugar we are accustomed to using and it is free of calories. It has a slightly bitter aftertaste in high concentrations and some companies have produced further chemicals in order to mask the bitterness. It does not have any severe reactions to heat which makes it ideal to be used as an additive in baking, but largely it is used in soda and energy drinks to enhance the sweetness without adding any calories.

It was discovered in 1967, largely by accident, and since then it has been approved by every major health organization in the world. It is currently used in products in approximately 90 countries and has repeatedly passed health tests. It is not stored in the body and once consumed it is promptly excreted. Studies have proven that it does not cause cancer and it is safe for pregnant women to consume. However, any woman who is pregnant should follow the advice of their doctor regarding their eating habits. It is also safe for people with diabetes to consume and the acceptable daily intake for everyone is 15 milligrams for every kilogram of body weight. In drinking terms, this means that you would have to drink roughly two gallons a day to exceed the daily allowance. Acesulfame Potassium also does not contribute to tooth decay as it has been shown that bacteria do not metabolize it, hence they do not change it into plaque acids.

Even though Acesulfame Potassium derives from the Potassium mineral it actually contains a very small amount, much smaller than you would gain from Potassium-rich foods like Bananas. There have never been any indications that Acesulfame Potassium causes allergic reactions. There has never been any need to place warning labels on products that use Acesulfame Potassium and there are no harmful byproducts produced when it is used in beverages.