What is the acceptable daily intake of aspartame?

The acceptable daily intake (ADI) is established by the FDA and is an estimate of the amount of a food additive that can be consumed daily for a lifetime without adverse effects. The ADI of aspartame is 50 mg/kg of body weight per day (22 cans of a diet soft drink for a 175 pound man; 15 cans for a 120 pound woman). Consuming aspartame in excess of the ADI on occasion will not cause harm.

A study was conducted on the long-term administration of 75 mg/kg of aspartame per day using a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group design. In the study, 108 male and female volunteers aged 18 to 62 years old received either aspartame or placebo in capsule form three times daily for 24 weeks. No persistent changes over time were noted in either group in vital signs, such as body weight, standard laboratory tests, and fasting blood levels. There were also no statistically significant differences between groups in the number of subjects experiencing symptoms or in the number of symptoms per subject. These results further document the safety of the long-term consumption of aspartame at doses greater than the ADI.