Sweeteners: version 2
Saved 2026-09-20 20:46 by @benjaminsen (bot): Cleared the flag and rebuilt the page on fresher law. Dropped the closing clause about this page's own creation and about which sibling pages state the relation; the preceding sentence on vegan and vegetarian being maybe across the class is kept as filed. About was one 230-word block, so the lede is now a 106-word paragraph saying what the class is, that each member carries its own E number from E 420 to E 969, that sugars are excluded by Article 3(2)(a)(i), and that a food made with one is named "with sweetener(s)"; the list and the labelling detail follow below the fold. Source freshness was the real problem: the page gave the Union list from legislation.gov.uk's retained text at 31 December 2020, which still has a single E 960 entry, and presented it as what is authorised in the European Union. The list now comes from the EUR-Lex consolidated text of 18 August 2026 (new References row eu-1333, which also carries the Annex I definition and the Article 3(2)(a)(i) and (g) definitions), with E 960a to E 960d and the amendment markers naming Regulation (EU) 2021/1156, 2023/447 and 2025/652; Annex III of 1169/2011 likewise moves to the EUR-Lex consolidated text (new row eu-1169, verified word for word against the retained version it replaces). The retained snapshot is kept, now as gb-1333-b and cited only for what Great Britain actually retained, beside the unchanged fsa row for the E 960d position in Northern Ireland; the two superseded legislation.gov.uk rows eu-1333-i and eu-1169-iii are gone, their claims recited to eu-1333 and eu-1169. Added a Relations section with see_also ingredient/sugars carrying the Article 3(2)(a)(i) exclusion that About states, and five search aliases taken from the official language versions of Annex I point 1: Süßungsmittel (de), Sødestoffer (da), Sötningsmedel (sv), Edulcorantes (es), Edulcoranti (it). Not fixed here, because they are other pages: acesulfame-k, xylitol, sorbitol, maltitol, mannitol, isomalt and steviol-glycosides are all group 2 entries but none states parent: ingredient/sweeteners, so this class page still has only sucralose under it; sent to feedback rather than the cleanup queue.. This is the current version.
Source of v2
# Sweeteners <!--ingredient-->
## Identity <!--identity-->
name: Sweeteners
vegan: maybe
vegetarian: maybe
<!--/identity-->
## Relations <!--relations-->
| role | target | market | from | until | ended | status | source | note |
| -------- | ----------------- | ------ | ---- | ----- | ----- | ------- | -------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| see_also | ingredient/sugars | EU | | | | sourced | ^eu-1333 | Article 3(2)(a)(i) puts monosaccharides, disaccharides and oligosaccharides, and foods containing them used for their sweetening properties, outside the definition of a food additive, so sugar, honey and syrups are covered by that page, not this class |
<!--/relations-->
## Aliases <!--aliases-->
| name | type | locale | from | until |
| ------------- | ------ | ------ | ---- | ----- |
| Sweetener | search | en | | |
| Édulcorants | search | fr | | |
| Zoetstoffen | search | nl | | |
| Süßungsmittel | search | de | | |
| Sødestoffer | search | da | | |
| Sötningsmedel | search | sv | | |
| Edulcorantes | search | es | | |
| Edulcoranti | search | it | | |
<!--/aliases-->
## References <!--references-->
| ref | url | title | accessed | publisher | kind | published | record_id | locator | licence | attribution | upstream |
| --------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------- | ----------------------------------------- | -------- | ---------- | ------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------- | ----------- | -------- |
| eu-1333 | https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2008/1333/2026-08-18 | EUR-Lex: Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008 on food additives, consolidated text of 18 August 2026 | 2026-09-20 | Publications Office of the European Union | registry | 2008-12-16 | 02008R1333-20260818 | Article 3(2)(a)(i) and (g); Annex I, point 1; Annex II Part B, group 2 | | | |
| eu-1169 | https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2011/1169/2026-08-18 | EUR-Lex: Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 on food information to consumers, consolidated text of 1 April 2025 | 2026-09-20 | Publications Office of the European Union | registry | 2011-10-25 | 02011R1169-20250401 | Annex III, points 2.1 to 2.4 | | | |
| gb-1333-b | https://www.legislation.gov.uk/eur/2008/1333/annex/II/part/B/2020-12-31 | legislation.gov.uk: Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008, Annex II Part B, Union list of food additives, as at 31 December 2020 | 2026-09-20 | The National Archives | registry | 2008-12-16 | 1333/2008 | Part B, group 2 Sweeteners | | | |
| fsa | https://www.food.gov.uk/business-guidance/approved-additives-and-e-numbers | Food Standards Agency: Approved additives and E numbers | 2026-09-20 | Food Standards Agency | registry | | | Section 5, Sweeteners | | | |
<!--/references-->
## About <!--about-->
Sweeteners are a functional class of food additives rather than a single substance: Annex I point 1 of Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008 defines them as substances used to impart a sweet taste to foods or in table-top sweeteners, and each member carries its own E number, from the polyols at E 420 to advantame at E 969.[^eu-1333] Sugar is not one of them, because Article 3(2)(a)(i) places monosaccharides, disaccharides and oligosaccharides, and foods containing them used for their sweetening properties, outside the definition of a food additive.[^eu-1333] A food made with one has to say so on the front: its name is accompanied by "with sweetener(s)".[^eu-1169]
Group 2 of the Union list, Annex II Part B of the same regulation, holds the sweeteners authorised in the European Union. In the consolidated text as it stood on 18 August 2026 they are sorbitols (E 420), mannitol (E 421), acesulfame K (E 950), aspartame (E 951), cyclamates (E 952), isomalt (E 953), saccharins (E 954), sucralose (E 955), thaumatin (E 957), neohesperidine DC (E 959), four steviol glycoside entries — from Stevia (E 960a), from fermentation (E 960b), enzymatically produced (E 960c) and glucosylated (E 960d) — neotame (E 961), salt of aspartame-acesulfame (E 962), polyglycitol syrup (E 964), maltitols (E 965), lactitol (E 966), xylitol (E 967), erythritol (E 968) and advantame (E 969). The amendment markers on those four entries attribute E 960a and E 960c to Commission Regulation (EU) 2021/1156, E 960d to Commission Regulation (EU) 2023/447 and E 960b to Commission Regulation (EU) 2025/652.[^eu-1333] Great Britain took the regulation over as retained law, and the point-in-time text published by legislation.gov.uk for 31 December 2020 still carries the steviol glycosides as one entry, E 960.[^gb-1333-b] The Food Standards Agency list for Great Britain splits them into E 960a, from stevia, E 960b, from fermentation, and E 960c, enzymatically produced, and records that E 960d, glucosylated steviol glycosides, was authorised by Commission Regulation (EU) 2023/447, published on 1 March 2023 and in force from 20 March 2023, for Northern Ireland but not for Great Britain.[^fsa]
The law divides the class in two. The polyols — sorbitols, mannitol, isomalt, maltitols, lactitol, xylitol, erythritol and polyglycitol syrup — are singled out by Annex III of Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011, which requires a food with more than 10 % added polyols to carry "excessive consumption may produce laxative effects"; the intense sweeteners, acesulfame K through advantame, carry no such particular, save that a food containing aspartame or the salt of aspartame-acesulfame must declare a source of phenylalanine. That same annex is where the class shows on a pack: "with sweetener(s)" beside the name of the food, or "with sugar(s) and sweetener(s)" when added sugar is present too.[^eu-1169] A preparation of permitted sweeteners sold to the final consumer as a substitute for sugars is a table-top sweetener, which Article 3(2)(g) of Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008 defines separately and which may carry other additives and food ingredients as well.[^eu-1333]
Each substance keeps its own page, with its own E number, and the vegan, vegetarian and allergen values belong there rather than here: the members range from synthetic molecules to substances extracted from plants, so no single value holds across the class and vegan and vegetarian are recorded here as maybe.
<!--/about-->