Sodium saccharin, also known as saccharin sodium, is an artificial sweetener found in a multitude of products. In the 1980s it was labeled as a potentially cancer-causing agent, but in the 1990s further in-depth scientific study showed this to be unfounded. And in 2010 the Environmental Protection Agency, or EPA, declassified it as potentially carcinogenic.
The Chemical Makeup of Sodium Saccharin
Sodium saccharin is a form of saccharin, also known as benzo-sulphinide and garantose. Saccharin is a white powder, like sugar, but 300 times sweeter. Sodium saccharin is created by adding a base to saccharin, which produces a salt, or sodium. This process is necessary because saccharin in its pure form does not dissolve easily in water. Sodium saccharin, on the other hand, dissolves quickly, which makes it an ideal sweetener for products such as soda.
Uses of Sodium Saccharin in Food
Sodium saccharin is used in a wide variety of food products, such as soda, fruit drinks, chewing gum, chips, bakery products, yogurt, jams and jellies, ice cream and more. It is commonly used in foods that need to be sweetened with a sugar substitute, those called "special dietary foods" by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Diet sodas are an example of a special dietary food. The FDA regulates the use of sodium saccharin and has classified it as safe up to the following doses: 12 mg per fluid oz. in beverages, 12 mg per tsp. in cooking and 30 mg per serving in processed food.
Other Uses of Sodium Saccharin
Sodium saccharin is used to sweeten the exterior of tablets, like multivitamins and pharmaceutical pills. It is also commonly found in products like toothpaste and in cosmetics. The additive is used in almost anything that comes in contact with taste buds that otherwise would have an unpleasant taste.
Sodium Saccharin and Cancer
Sodium saccharin was listed as a potentially cancer-causing agent by the FDA, the EPA and other domestic and international agencies because lab studies found that it produced tumors in male rats. Years later, scientists discovered that rats' bodies react very differently to sodium saccharin than humans do, so differently that no regulatory agencies now list the additive as potentially carcinogenic. Despite this, there are groups that still oppose its use in food and other products.
References
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration: CFR - Code of Federal Regulations Title 21: Saccharin
- The Good Scents Company: Sodium Saccharin
- United States Department of Labor: Occupational Safety and Health Administration: Saccharin
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency: Removal of Saccharin from the Lists of Hazardous Constituents and Hazardous Wastes under RCRA and from the List of Hazardous Substances under CERCLA: Dec. 2010
- Great Vista Chemicals: Sodium Saccharin
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