Revisiting Artificial Sweeteners – New Field Surveys and Toxicity Evaluations Call for Action

Artificial sweeteners (AS) are environmental contaminants of emerging concern, with acesulfame and sucralose being the most commonly used.

Due to the high comsumption and uncertaties regarding health risk following long term use they are currently being re-evaluated by the European Food Safety Authority.

Although AS are ubiquitous in surface waters at levels that are among the highest for anthropogenic trace pollutants, their current environmental risk assessment is inadequate to protect wildlife due to the lack of scientific evidence of a risk profile.

Recent findings suggest that AS may have unpredicted and unknown effects on different organisms, particularly after long-term exposure to low concentrations.

Microbiological and biochemical effect studies on vertebrate models, including humans, suggest that gut microbiota often mediates AS effects, which manifest as cardio- and neurotoxicity.

Such bacteria-mediated and neurobehavioural chronic responses in invertebrates are highly relevant in the ecotoxicological context.We propose to improve the hazard assessment of AS by applying a novel risk profile approach that links effects on gut microbiota to biochemical responses and neurological effects, and further, to nutrition, and, ultimately, population growth alterations, in aquatic organisms.

The results will be used the in the context of regulatory activities and communicated to SEPA and HELCOM to support contaminant and biological effect assessment in the Baltic Sea.