| Department of Food and Nutritional Sciences, The University of Reading
Food Labelling in the UK - A supporting material page |
The approved sweetener, Aspartame, contains the amino acid phenylalanine. Unfortunately, some individuals are unable to metabolise this chemical and need to avoid consuming it. Since it may not be known that aspartame contains phenylalanine, when it was first approved for use, the legislation included the requirement to add an additional statement on labels. This is now contained in Annex III to the Regulation as shown in this extract:
| TYPE OR CATEGORY OF FOOD: Foods containing sweeteners | PARTICULARS |
Foods containing aspartame/ aspartame-acesulfame salt authorised pursuant to Regulation EC) No 1333/2008. |
‘contains aspartame (a source of phenylalanine)’ shall appear on the label in cases where aspartame/aspartame-acesulfame salt is designated in the list of ingredients only by reference to the E number. ‘contains a source of phenylalanine’ shall appear on the label in cases where aspartame/aspartame-acesulfame salt is designated in the list of ingredients by its specific name. |
The following is the ingredients list on a packet of powder used for making a Jelly. It includes 'Sweeteners: Aspartame, Acesulfame K'. As the list names Aspartame as the sweetener, the required statement given below the list is 'Contains a source of Phenylalanine':
Here is a second example, this one is from a Cola drink. The same combination of sweeteners is use and the required statement appears after the ingredients list:
