The EFSA increased the Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI) from 5 to 9 mg/kg body weight per day. The ADI is the amount of a substance that a person can consume daily for a lifetime without any adverse health effects. The new ADI includes saccharin and its sodium, calcium and potassium salts (E 954). The previous ADI was set in 1995 based on the increased incidence of bladder tumours observed in studies on rats. However, there is now a scientific consensus that these tumours are specific to male rats and do not affect humans.
EFSA's experts have reviewed all available data and concluded that saccharin does not cause DNA damage and that it is unlikely that the consumption of saccharin is associated with a cancer risk in humans. Furthermore, consumer exposure is below the newly derived ADI. This means that there is no health risk.