Bitter truth about artificial sweeteners: A critical review on the ecotoxicity of sucralose, acesulfame, saccharin and cyclamate

Due to their high stability and water solubility, some artificial sweeteners reach aquatic environments and persist there. Despite the identification of sucralose, acesulfame, saccharin, and cyclamate as emerging pollutants in literature for over a decade, no environmental risk assessment of these substances has been conducted to date. However, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) is currently undertaking a re-evaluation of the authorization of artificial sweeteners, still ongoing for sucralose and cyclamate. The present review demonstrates that all four sweeteners have been identified as being persistent and very mobile in the aquatic environment. The focal point of this review pertains to the ecotoxicity of the four aforementioned sweeteners. The acute toxicity studies conducted on aquatic model organisms demonstrated that there was no overall acute hazard. Nevertheless, a pronounced lack of chronic toxicity studies persists, and data at environmentally relevant concentrations remain scarce, representing a significant knowledge gap. This is a matter of concern, as this review indicates that numerous studies employing alternative endpoints have identified effects within environmentally relevant concentrations. In light of the potential for long-term effects, the reauthorization of the addressed artificial sweeteners warrants careful reconsideration.