Saccharin

E number E954INS 954(i)CAS 81-07-2

Used as a sweetener.

Saccharin is the oldest artificial sweetener, discovered in 1879 and around three hundred times as sweet as sugar. This entry is the free acid; in food it is almost always used as a sodium, calcium or potassium salt, which dissolve far more readily.

Where it is and isn’t permitted

Status of Saccharin 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

59 food categories

highest permitted level 2,500 mg/kg

Show every food category
  • 01.1.4 Flavoured Fluid Milk Drinks — 80 mg/kg
  • 01.7 Dairy-based desserts (e.g. pudding, fruit or flavoured yoghurt) — 100 mg/kg
  • 02.4 Fat-based desserts excluding dairy-based dessert products of food category 01.7 — 100 mg/kg
  • 03.0 Edible ices, including sherbet and sorbet — 100 mg/kg
  • 04.1.2.10 Fermented fruit products — 160 mg/kg
  • 04.1.2.3 Fruit in vinegar, oil, or brine — 160 mg/kg
  • 04.1.2.4 Canned or bottled (pasteurized) fruit — 200 mg/kg
  • 04.1.2.5 — 200 mg/kg
  • 04.1.2.6 Fruit-based spreads (e.g. chutney) excluding products of food category — 200 mg/kg
  • 04.1.2.8 Fruit preparations, including pulp, purees, fruit toppings and coconut milk — 200 mg/kg
  • 04.1.2.9 Fruit-based desserts, incl. fruit-flavoured water-based desserts — 100 mg/kg
  • 04.2.2.2 Dried vegetables (including mushrooms and fungi, roots and tubers, pulses and legumes, and aloe vera), seaweeds, and nuts and seeds — 500 mg/kg
  • 04.2.2.3 Vegetables (including mushrooms and fungi, roots and tubers, pulses and legumes, and aloe vera), and seaweeds in vinegar, oil, brine, or soybean sauce — 160 mg/kg
  • 04.2.2.4 Canned or bottled (pasteurized) or retort pouch vegetables (including mushrooms and fungi, roots and tubers, pulses and legumes, and aloe vera), and seaweeds — 160 mg/kg
  • 04.2.2.5 Vegetable (including mushrooms and fungi, roots and tubers, pulses and legumes, and aloe vera), seaweed, and nut and seed purees and spreads (e.g. peanut butter) — 160 mg/kg
  • 04.2.2.6 Vegetable (including mushrooms and fungi, roots and tubers, pulses and legumes, and aloe vera), seaweed, and nut and seed pulps and preparations (e.g. vegetable desserts and sauces, candied vegetables) other than food category 04.2.2.5 — 200 mg/kg
  • 04.2.2.7 Fermented vegetable (including mushrooms and fungi, roots and tubers, pulses and legumes, and aloe vera) and seaweed products, excluding fermented soybean products of food categories 06.8.6, 06.8.7, 12.9.1, — 200 mg/kg
  • 04.2.2.8 Cooked or fried vegetables (including mushrooms and fungi, roots and tubers, pulses and legumes, and aloe vera), and seaweeds — 160 mg/kg
  • 05.1.1 Cocoa mixes (powders) and cocoa mass/cake — 100 mg/kg
  • 05.1.2 Cocoa mixes (syrups) — 80 mg/kg
  • 05.1.3 Cocoa-based spreads, incl. fillings — 200 mg/kg
  • 05.1.4 Cocoa and chocolate products — 500 mg/kg
  • 05.1.5 Imitation chocolate, chocolate substitute products — 500 mg/kg
  • 05.2 Confectionery including hard and soft candy, nougats, etc. other than food categories 05.1, 05.3, and 05.4 — 500 mg/kg
  • 05.3 Chewing gum — 2,500 mg/kg
  • 05.4 Decorations (e.g. for fine bakery wares), toppings (non-fruit), and sweet sauces — 500 mg/kg
  • 06.3 Breakfast cereals, including rolled oats — 100 mg/kg
  • 06.5 Cereal and starch based desserts (e.g. rice pudding, tapioca pudding) — 100 mg/kg
  • 07.2 Fine bakery wares (sweet, salty, savoury) and mixes — 170 mg/kg
  • 09.2.4.1 Cooked fish and fish products — 500 mg/kg
  • 09.3.1 Fish and fish products, including molluscs, crustaceans, and echinoderms, marinated and/or in jelly — 160 mg/kg
  • 09.3.2 Fish and fish products, including molluscs, crustaceans and echinoderms, pickled and/or in brine — 160 mg/kg
  • 09.3.4 Semi-preserved fish and fish products, including molluscs, crustaceans and echinoderms (e.g. fish paste), excluding products of food categories 09.3.1 - 09.3.3 — 160 mg/kg
  • 09.4 Fully preserved, including canned or fermented fish and fish products, including molluscs, crustaceans, and echinoderms — 200 mg/kg
  • 10.4 Egg-based desserts (e.g. custard) — 100 mg/kg
  • 11.4 Other sugars and syrups (e.g. xylose, maple syrup, sugar toppings) — 300 mg/kg
  • 11.6 Table-top sweeteners, including those containing high-intensity sweeteners — GMP
  • 12.2.2 Seasonings and condiments — 150 mg/kg
  • 12.3 Vinegars — 300 mg/kg
  • 12.4 Mustards — 320 mg/kg
  • 12.5 Soups and broths — 110 mg/kg
  • 12.6 Sauces and like products — 160 mg/kg
  • 12.7 Salads (e.g. macaroni salad, potato salad) and sandwich spreads excluding cocoa-and nut-based spreads of food categories 04.2.2.5 and 05.1.3 — 200 mg/kg
  • 12.9.1 Fermented soybean paste (e.g. miso) — 200 mg/kg
  • 12.9.2.1 Fermented soybean sauce — 500 mg/kg
  • 13.3 Dietetic foods intended for special medical purposes (excluding products of food category 13.1) — 200 mg/kg
  • 13.4 Dietetic formulae for slimming purposes and weight reduction — 300 mg/kg
  • 13.5 Dietetic foods (e.g. supplementary foods for dietary use) excluding products of food categories — 200 mg/kg
  • 13.6 Food supplements — 1,200 mg/kg
  • 14.1.3.1 Fruit nectar — 80 mg/kg
  • 14.1.3.2 Vegetable nectar — 80 mg/kg
  • 14.1.3.3 Concentrates for fruit nectar — 80 mg/kg
  • 14.1.3.4 Concentrates for vegetable nectar — 80 mg/kg
  • 14.1.4.1 Carbonated water-based flavoured drinks — 300 mg/kg
  • 14.1.4.2 Non-carbonated water-based flavoured drinks, including punches and ades — 300 mg/kg
  • 14.1.4.3 Concentrates (liquid or solid) for water-based flavoured drinks — 300 mg/kg
  • 14.1.5 Coffee, coffee substitutes, tea, herbal infusions, and other hot cereal and grain beverages, excluding cocoa — 200 mg/kg
  • 14.2.7 Aromatized alcoholic beverages (e.g. beer, wine and spirituous cooler-type beverages, low-alcoholic refreshers) — 80 mg/kg
  • 15.0 Ready-to-eat savouries — 100 mg/kg
CXS 192-1995 Table One, INS 954(i)and 58 further provisionsretrieved 2026-09-07

What it is made from

Synthesised from petroleum-derived aromatic starting materials, historically toluene and more recently anthranilic acid or phthalic anhydride routes. It passes through the body unchanged.

  • Vegan
  • Vegetarian
CAS registry number
81-07-2
InChIKey
CVHZOJJKTDOEJC-UHFFFAOYSA-N
PubChem
CID 5143

Every name it appears under

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

E number

  • E954

INS number

  • 954(i)

CAS registry number

  • 81-07-2

Other names

  • 1,1-Dioxo-1,2-benzisothiazol-3(2H)-one
  • 1,1-dioxo-1,2-benzothiazol-3-one
  • 1,2-Benzisothiazol-3(2H)-one, 1,1-dioxide
  • 1,2-Benzisothiazolin-3-one 1,1-dioxide
  • 1,2-Dihydro-2-ketobenzisosulfonazole
  • 1,2-Dihydro-2-ketobenzisosulphonazole
  • 2,3-dihydro-1$l^{6},2-benzothiazole-1,1,3-trione
  • 2,3-Dihydro-3-oxobenzisosulfonazole
  • 2,3-Dihydro-3-oxobenzisosulphonazole
  • 2-Sulphobenzoic imide
  • 3-Benzisothiazolinone 1,1-dioxide
  • 3-Hydroxybenzisothiazole-S,S-dioxide
  • 550 Saccharine
  • Anhydro-o-sulfaminebenzoic acid
  • Benzo-2-sulphimide
  • Benzo[d]isothiazol-3(2H)-one 1,1-dioxide
  • Benzoic acid sulfimide
  • Benzoic sulfimide
  • Benzoic sulphimide
  • Benzosulfimide
  • Benzosulfinide
  • Benzosulphimide
  • Benzoylsulfonic Imide
  • Calcium, Saccharin
  • E 954(i)
  • FST467XS7D
  • Garantose
  • Glucid
  • Gluside
  • Hermesetas
  • INS NO.954(I)
  • INS-954(I)
  • Insoluble saccharin
  • Kandiset
  • Natreen
  • o-Benzoic sulfimide
  • o-Benzoic sulphimide
  • o-Benzosulfimide
  • o-Benzosulphimide
  • o-Benzoyl sulfimide
  • o-Benzoyl sulphimide
  • o-Sulfobenzimide
  • o-Sulfobenzoic acid imide
  • Sacarina
  • Saccharimide
  • Saccharin
  • Saccharin acid
  • Saccharin insoluble
  • Saccharine
  • Saccharinol
  • Saccharinose
  • SACCHARINS
  • Saccharinum
  • Saccharol
  • Sacharin
  • Saxin
  • Sucre edulcor
  • Sucrette
  • Sweeta
  • Sykose
  • Zaharina

Systematic names

  • 1,2-benzisothiazol-3(2H)-one 1,1-dioxide

Hazard reference values

Values set by assessing bodies. A body that has not set a value is not listed here.
TypeValuePopulationAssessed byOpinion
ADI9 mg/kg bw/dayconsumersEFSAnot identified in the dataset

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/saccharin.json