After reassessing the food safety of erythritol, a sugar alcohol that is commonly used as a zero-calorie sweetener, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has lowered the acceptable daily intake (ADI) for the additive to 0.5 grams per kilogram of bodyweight (g/kg BW) per day. The agency reports that, in all groups of people across the EU population included in the assessment, both acute and chronic exposure to erythritol is above the newly set ADI.
The ADI of 0.5 g/kg BW was set as protection from the immediate laxative effect of erythritol but also from any potential adverse long-term effects, secondary to diarrhea, such as electrolyte imbalance.