Low- and no-calorie sweetener intakes from beverages – an up-to-date assessment in four regions: Brazil, Canada, Mexico and the United States

The current assessment estimated exposure to four low- and no-calorie sweeteners (LNCS) (aspartame, acesulfame potassium (AceK), steviol glycosides and sucralose) from beverages in Brazil, Canada, Mexico and the United States, using up-to-date nationally representative consumption data and industry reported-use level information. Two modelling scenarios were applied – the probabilistic model was guided by reported use level data, with estimated intake for an individual leveraging market-weighted average use level of a particular LNCS in any given LNCS-sweetened beverage type, while the distributional (brand-loyal) model assumed consumer behaviour-led patterns, namely that an individual will be brand loyal to a pre-determined beverage type. Consumer-only and general population intake estimates were derived for the overall population and individual age categories, and compared to the respective acceptable daily intake (ADI) as established by the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) for each LNCS. The mean, 90th percentile and 95th percentile intake estimates were substantially lower than the ADI in both modelling scenarios, regardless of the population group or market. In the probabilistic model, the highest consumer-only intake was observed for AceK in Brazilian adolescents (95th percentile, 12.4% of the ADI), while the highest 95th percentile intakes in the distributional model were observed for sucralose in Canadian adults at 20.9% of the ADI. This study provides the latest insights into current intakes of LNCS from water-based non-alcoholic LNCS-sweetened beverages in these regions, aligning well with those published elsewhere.

本评估针对巴西、加拿大、墨西哥及美国境内饮品中的四种低热量与无热量甜味剂（low- and no-calorie sweeteners, LNCS，即阿斯巴甜、乙酰磺胺酸钾（acesulfame potassium, AceK）、甜菊糖苷与三氯蔗糖）的暴露量进行了估算，所用数据为最新的全国代表性消费数据及行业上报的使用量信息。本研究采用两种建模场景：其一为概率模型，以上报的使用量数据为建模依据，个体的估算摄入量基于某款经市场加权平均的特定LNCS在任意对应LNCS甜味饮品中的使用水平；其二为分布型（品牌忠诚型）模型，该模型以消费者行为模式为假设基础，即消费者会对预先选定的饮品品类保持品牌忠诚度。本研究针对全人群及各年龄组别，分别得出了仅消费者群体与全人群的摄入量估算值，并将其与食品添加剂联合专家委员会（Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives, JECFA）为各LNCS设定的相应每日允许摄入量（acceptable daily intake, ADI）进行对比。在两种建模场景下，无论针对哪个人群组别或哪个市场，均值、90分位数与95分位数的摄入量估算值均显著低于ADI。在概率模型中，巴西青少年群体的乙酰磺胺酸钾（AceK）仅消费者摄入量最高（95分位数为ADI的12.4%）；而在分布型模型中，加拿大成年人群体的三氯蔗糖摄入量95分位数最高，为ADI的20.9%。本研究为上述地区水性非酒精性LNCS甜味饮品中的LNCS当前摄入量提供了最新分析结果，与其他地区已发表的相关研究结论高度契合。