Судлаачид сукралоз агуулсан бүтээгдэхүүнийг боловсруулах болон хүний биед задрах явцад үүсдэг бодис нь генетикийн материалд сөрөг нөлөөтэй болохыг лабораторийн шинжилгээгээр илрүүлэв.
Норт Каролинагийн их сургуулийн судлаач Сюзан Шиффман болон түүний баг сукралоз-6-ацетат хэмээх нэгдэл нь генотоксик буюу ДНХ-ийн бүтцийг гэмтээх шинж чанартай болохыг тогтоожээ. Уг судалгааг 2023 онд хийсэн бөгөөд лабораторийн нөхцөлд хүний эсэд туршилт явуулахад уг бодис нь ДНХ-ийн хэлхээг таслах үйлчилгээ үзүүлсэн байна. Мөн гэдэсний ханын загвар дээр хийсэн туршилтаар сукралоз болон сукралоз-6-ацетат нь эсийн хамгаалалтын давхаргыг сулруулж, үрэвсэл, хорт хавдартай холбоотой генүүдийг идэвхжүүлж болохыг ажиглажээ.
Европын хүнсний аюулгүй байдлын байгууллага (EFSA) 2026 оны хоёрдугаар сарын 16-нд сукралозын аюулгүй байдлын талаарх үнэлгээгээ шинэчлэн танилцуулсан байна. Тус байгууллага 1999 оноос 2025 оны гуравдугаар сар хүртэлх судалгаануудад үндэслэн сукралозын өдрийн зөвшөөрөгдөх хэмжээг өмнөх түвшинд буюу нэг килограмм жинд 15 миллиграмм байхаар хэвээр үлдээжээ. EFSA-ийн шинжээчид 2023 оны лабораторийн үр дүнг хязгаарлагдмал хүрээний судалгаа гэж үзэж, хүнсний нэмэлт бүтээгдэхүүн дэх сукралоз нь генотоксикийн аюул учруулахгүй гэсэн дүгнэлтэд хүрсэн байна.
Гэсэн хэдий ч судалгааны ажил үргэлжилсээр байгаа бөгөөд 2026 оны наймдугаар сард хийгдсэн өөр нэгэн туршилтаар арилжааны зориулалттай сукралоз нь зарим эдэд ДНХ-ийн гэмтлийн дохио өгч болзошгүйг илрүүлжээ. Мөн Европын эрдэмтэд сукралозыг өндөр температурт халаахад хлор агуулсан нэгдлүүд үүсэх эрсдэлтэй гэж үзэж байна. Германы Эрсдэлийн үнэлгээний холбооны зөвлөмжийн дагуу сукралоз агуулсан хоол хүнсийг 120 хэмээс дээш температурт халаахаас зайлсхийж, хоол болсны дараа нэмэхийг зөвлөжээ.
Дэлгэрэнгүйг эх сурвалжаас харах
↓Эх сурвалжийг нээх ↓
The compound has a long name and turns up in tiny amounts. Sucralose-6-acetate is a chemical cousin of sucralose, the zero-calorie sweetener sold as Splenda and used in diet sodas, yogurts and protein bars. It is left over in small traces when sucralose is made, and the body can also produce it after sucralose is eaten.
In 2023, a team led by Susan Schiffman of North Carolina State University put it on human cells in the lab. In those experiments it broke DNA.
“Our new work establishes that sucralose-6-acetate is genotoxic,” Schiffman said when the study came out in May 2023. The finding is now circulating again, three years later. In the meantime, Europe’s food safety agency finished a full review of sucralose and left its safety limit where it was.
Sucralose-6-Acetate Broke DNA Strands in Human Blood Cells
The 2023 study, published in the Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health, Part B, ran a series of laboratory screening tests. A high-throughput assay called MultiFlow and a separate micronucleus test both flagged sucralose-6-acetate as genotoxic, meaning it damaged genetic material. The MultiFlow test classified the damage as clastogenic, the kind that breaks DNA strands.
The team also tested off-the-shelf sucralose and found sucralose-6-acetate in it at levels of up to 0.67%. In a rodent study, the compound reached up to 10% of the level of sucralose in feces, a sign that some sucralose may be converted in the gut. These were experiments on cells and tissue samples. Nobody in the study ate or drank anything.
One Diet Drink a Day Against a 0.15-Microgram Safety Benchmark
The researchers also exposed a model of human intestinal lining to both sucralose and sucralose-6-acetate. Both weakened the barrier that keeps the gut’s contents from slipping into the body, and both switched on genes linked to inflammation, oxidative stress and cancer. Sucralose-6-acetate also blocked two enzymes from the cytochrome P450 family, which help the body break down drugs and other chemicals.
To put the doses in context, the team compared them with a European screening benchmark. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) uses a “threshold of toxicological concern” of 0.15 micrograms a day for substances that can damage DNA. Schiffman argued that “the trace amounts of sucralose-6-acetate in a single, daily sucralose-sweetened drink exceed that threshold.” A screening threshold is a trigger for closer study, not proof that a drink harms anyone.
“It’s time to revisit the safety and regulatory status of sucralose,” she said. She also urged people to avoid products that contain it.
Europe Kept the Sucralose Limit at 15 Milligrams per Kilogram
EFSA did revisit it. On Feb. 16, 2026, the agency published a full re-evaluation of sucralose, known in Europe as E 955, drawing on studies published from 1999 to March 2025. Its expert panel saw no need to change the acceptable daily intake of 15 milligrams per kilogram of body weight per day, about 6.8 milligrams per pound. Even the highest estimates of how much Europeans actually consume came in below that in every age group.
According to ScienceDaily’s account of the report, EFSA judged the 2023 DNA-damage screening results to be of limited relevance and concluded that sucralose used as a food additive raises no genotoxicity concern. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which approved sucralose in 1998, says its own safety assessment drew on more than 110 studies, including human clinical research.
The science has kept moving on both sides. An August 2026 study of commercial-grade sucralose in Food and Chemical Toxicology found mostly negative results, although one test, a comet assay, picked up DNA-damage signals in several tissues that the authors called hard to interpret. Several of its authors work for Tate & Lyle, the company that developed sucralose, and others for the consulting firm Intertek.
Sucralose in Cakes and Cookies Stalled Over Oven Heat
The European review did leave one door closed. Manufacturers had asked to use sucralose in more baked goods, and EFSA could not confirm that it was safe. The problem is heat. When sucralose is held at high temperatures for a long time, chlorine from the molecule can attach to other organic compounds, and the panel could not rule out that risk without limits on baking time and temperature.
The agency asked the European Commission to set separate limits for two chlorinated impurities, 4-chlorogalactopyranose and 1,6-dichlorofructofuranose, and to lower the permitted level of lead in sucralose sold in the EU. It also flagged home cooking, where frying and baking temperatures are harder to control than in a factory.
Germany’s Federal Institute for Risk Assessment went a step further for home cooks. In an advisory issued on Feb. 26, 2026, it told consumers not to heat foods containing sucralose above 120 °C (248 °F), a temperature most ovens pass easily, and to add the sweetener only after cooking.
Enjoyed this article? Subscribe to our free newsletter for engaging stories, exclusive content, and the latest news.
