Alitame

INS 956

Used as a sweetener.

Alitame is an intense sweetener about two thousand times as sweet as sugar, built from two amino acids. It has been approved in a number of countries but not in the United States or the European Union, and is little used.

Where it is and isn’t permitted

Status of Alitame by jurisdiction. Every jurisdiction this site covers is listed, including those where the substance does not appear.
JurisdictionStatusScope and limitsCitation
United StatesFood and Drug AdministrationNot listedDoes not appear on this jurisdiction’s permitted list. That is not the same as being prohibited.
Codex AlimentariusCodex Alimentarius Commission / JECFAPermitted, with conditions

4 food categories

highest permitted level 300 mg/kg

Show every food category
  • 03.0 Edible ices, including sherbet and sorbet — 100 mg/kg
  • 05.3 Chewing gum — 300 mg/kg
  • 11.6 Table-top sweeteners, including those containing high-intensity sweeteners — GMP
  • 14.1.4 Water-based flavoured drinks, including "sport," “energy,” or "electrolyte" drinks and particulated drinks — 40 mg/kg
CXS 192-1995 Table One, INS 956and 3 further provisionsretrieved 2026-09-07

What it is made from

A dipeptide amide made from L-aspartic acid and D-alanine with a thietane amide group. The amino acids are produced by fermentation.

  • Vegan
  • Vegetarian
InChIKey
NUFKRGBSZPCGQB-FLBSXDLDSA-N
PubChem
CID 20055408

Every name it appears under

21 recorded names. A label may use any of them.

INS number

  • 956

CAS registry number

  • 99016-42-9

Other names

  • 6KI9M51JOG
  • Aclame
  • ALITAME
  • Alitame hydrate
  • alpha-aspartyl-N-(2,2,4,4-tetramethyl-3-thietanyl)alaninamide
  • E-956(alitame)
  • HSDB 7825
  • Ins no.956(alitame)
  • Ins-956(alitame)
  • L-alpha-Aspartyl-N-(2,2,4,4-tetramethylthietan-3-yl)-D-alaninamide--water (2/5)
  • NUFKRGBSZPCGQB-FLBSXDLDSA-N

Systematic names

  • (3S)-3-amino-4-oxo-4-[[(2R)-1-oxo-1-[(2,2,4,4-tetramethylthietan-3-yl)amino]propan-2-yl]amino]butanoic acid;pentahydrate
  • (3S)-Amino-N-((1R)-1-((2,2,4,4-tetramethyl-3-thietanyl)carbamoy)ethyl)succinamic acid hydrate (2:5)
  • (3S)-Amino-N-((1R)-1-((2,2,4,4-tetramethyl-3-thietanyl)carbamoyl)ethyl)succinamic acid hydrate (2:5)
  • bis(N4-((R)-1-oxo-1-((2,2,4,4-tetramethylthietan-3-yl)amino)propan-2-yl)-D-asparagine) pentahydrate
  • D-Alaninamide, L-.alpha.-aspartyl-N-(2,2,4,4-tetramethyl-3-thietanyl)-, hydrate (2:5)
  • D-Alaninamide, L-alpha-aspartyl-N-(2,2,4,4-tetramethyl-3-thietanyl)-, hydrate (2:5)
  • D-Alaninamide, L-apha-aspartyl-N-(2,2,4,4-tetramethyl-3-thietanyl)- hydrate (2:5)
  • D-Alaninamide, L-I+/--aspartyl-N-(2,2,4,4-tetramethyl-3-thietanyl)-, hydrate (2:5)

Hazard reference values

No reference value for this substance in the sources we hold.

Evidence and how bodies read it

Studies, and the differing conclusions regulators drew from them, are curated by hand rather than machine-read, and none has been written for this substance yet.

Sources for this page

  • gsfa retrieved 2026-09-07

Full licence terms and publisher details on Sources. How this page is built and updated: Method.

Machine-readable:/api/v1/additives/alitame.json