Erythritol is the sweetener the food industry lists as E968. In our table it is high risk: it takes 30 points off the additive subscore, which is worth a third of a product's score (about 10 of the 100).
- The key finding, from EFSA: First-ever numerical ADI of 0.5 g/kg bw/day set from a NOAEL for diarrhoea; erythritol is not genotoxic; EFSA states that in all population groups both acute and chronic exposure sits above the new ADI, and that the highest mean and 95th-percentile chronic exposure was in children (742 mg/kg bw/day) and adolescents (1,532 mg/kg bw/day) respectively, i.e. children were the most exposed group at the mean, a MEAN exceedance in a child age group (EFSA Journal 2023;21(12):8430, doi:10.2903/j.efsa.2023.8430 (PMC10731997), published 2023-12-20; plus EFSA plain-language summary)
- Flagged for young children. Set only where EFSA’s own exposure assessment shows toddlers or children exceeding or approaching the ADI, or where a regulator used explicitly child-specific language. It is already in our top class, so the flag cannot move it higher.
- Where you meet it. It turns up in 11 of the 10,000 packaged foods scanned most on Open Food Facts, most often in yogurts and soft drinks. Nine in ten of those foods are sold in Europe (counted 26 Sep 2026).
- 3 citations from EFSA and peer-reviewed research, each one below.
What Erythritol does to a score
A packaged food's additive subscore starts at 100 and loses points for each additive on the label; that subscore is a third of the final score. Erythritol takes 30 points off the additive subscore, which is worth a third of a product's score (about 10 of the 100). Scan the pack in Sito and the score you get is the one for your own child's age, with this additive named in the reasons. How we score has the whole method.
See what is in your own cupboard
Scan a packaged food and Sito names the additives in it, then scores the product out of 100 for your child's age.
What the sources found
Every classification in our table comes from the citations below, and nothing else. Each finding is our one-line summary of what the source concluded, with the source and reference beside it.
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EFSA
Journal 2023;21(12):8430, doi:10.2903/j.efsa.2023.8430 (PMC10731997), published 2023-12-20; plus EFSA plain-language summary
First-ever numerical ADI of 0.5 g/kg bw/day set from a NOAEL for diarrhoea; erythritol is not genotoxic; EFSA states that in all population groups both acute and chronic exposure sits above the new ADI, and that the highest mean and 95th-percentile chronic exposure was in children (742 mg/kg bw/day) and adolescents (1,532 mg/kg bw/day) respectively — i.e. children were the most exposed group at the mean, a MEAN exceedance in a child age group. -
Peer-reviewed
Witkowski et al. 2023, Nature Medicine, doi:10.1038/s41591-023-02223-9
Plasma erythritol was associated with roughly doubled 3-year risk of major adverse cardiovascular events in at-risk cohorts, with mechanistic support from enhanced platelet reactivity and thrombosis after ingestion — a signal not reflected in current EFSA/FDA status (adult-cardiac, not paediatric). -
Peer-reviewed
Witkowski et al. 2024, Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol, doi:10.1161/ATVBAHA.124.321019 (PMID 39114916)
Ingestion of erythritol, but not glucose, enhanced platelet reactivity and thrombosis potential in healthy volunteers — the interventional follow-up to the 2023 cohort finding.
Why this class
IARC Group 1 or 2A with a dietary exposure route; or EFSA has withdrawn or negated a safety conclusion; or EFSA’s own exposure assessment finds a child age group exceeding the ADI at mean intake; or the substance is banned or formally being phased out for food use by the EU, by the US FDA, or under a US state law.
Our confidence in this row's classification is high. Medium or low does not mean the evidence is weak; it means something about the row is still being pinned down, usually a regulatory status confirmed from one source rather than two.
Questions parents ask
Is Erythritol (E968) safe for kids?
High risk. In Sito it takes 30 points off the additive subscore, which is worth a third of a product's score (about 10 of the 100). It is flagged for young children, and it is already in our top class, so the flag cannot move it higher. The finding we rely on: First-ever numerical ADI of 0.5 g/kg bw/day set from a NOAEL for diarrhoea; erythritol is not genotoxic; EFSA states that in all population groups both acute and chronic exposure sits above the new ADI, and that the highest mean and 95th-percentile chronic exposure was in children (742 mg/kg bw/day) and adolescents (1,532 mg/kg bw/day) respectively, i.e. children were the most exposed group at the mean, a MEAN exceedance in a child age group (EFSA Journal 2023;21(12):8430, doi:10.2903/j.efsa.2023.8430 (PMC10731997), published 2023-12-20; plus EFSA plain-language summary).
What is E968?
E968 is the E number for Erythritol, a sweetener. Open Food Facts tags it en:e968.
Next to it on the label
The E numbers either side of E968 in our table, then the closest sweeteners by number.
- Steviol glycosides (E960), low risk, flagged for young children
- Neotame (E961), low risk
- Salt of aspartame-acesulfame (E962), moderate risk
- Maltitol (E965), moderate risk
- Xylitol (E967), moderate risk
- Advantame (E969), no risk identified