Cyclamate – banned by FDA in soft drinks

Cyclamate is an odorless, white crystalline powder. The name usually denotes either calcium cyclamate or sodium cyclamate, both of which are salts of cyclohexylsulfamic acid. It is used most commonly in cordials/fruit drinks, carbonated soft drinks, desserts, confectionery and as a table top sweetener. Because of potential health concerns, this substance has been banned in the US by the Food and Drug Administration since 1969, since it is suspected of being carcinogenic.

Cyclamate is a synthetic artificial sweetener that is 30 to 50 times sweeter than sugar -- the least sweet of all artificial sweeteners. Cyclamate does leave an aftertaste, although less so than other artificial sweeteners such as saccharin.

Cyclamate was discovered in 1937. It was used as a low-calorie sweetener in the United States in the 1950s and 1960s. Cyclamate is 30 times sweeter than sugar, making it the least potent artificial sweetener.

It has been subjected to numerous safety and carcinogenicity studies. Animal data led to warning against excessive and indiscriminate use a long time ago, causing the World Health Organization in 1967 to adopt a safety limit of 50 mg/kg. An animal study in 1970 found an increased incidence of bladder cancers in rats exposed to a mix of cyclamate and saccharin (Science 1970 Feb 20;167(3921):1131-2)

Cyclamate was banned by the UK in the late sixties after being linked to cancer, before being re-evaluated and reinstated in 1996.
Cyclamate – banned by FDA in soft drinks