Ingredient Index · E952

Is Sodium Cyclamate banned in Europe?

Banned in US

No, the opposite: sodium cyclamate (E952) is permitted as a sweetener in the EU but has been banned by the FDA in the US since 1969, one of the few cases where America is the stricter jurisdiction.

E-number: E952CAS: 139-05-9 Also seen as: Cyclamate, Sucaryl, Cyclamic acid salt, E952

What the EU does

Permitted. Sodium cyclamate is authorized as sweetener E952 under Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008, with maximum levels per food category, including a cap around 250 mg/L in beverages. It is a common tabletop and diet-drink sweetener in Europe and is approved in more than 100 countries.

This is one of the rare reverse cases this site tracks, where the EU is the permissive jurisdiction and the US is the strict one. If you have seen cyclamate on a "banned in Europe" list, the list has the geography backwards.

Citation Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008, Annex II (E952); max ~250 mg/L in beverages

What the US does

Banned, and for a long time. The FDA removed cyclamate's GRAS status in 1969 and banned it from foods after a study linked high doses to bladder tumors in rats; the prohibition is codified at 21 CFR 189.135. The United States is the major holdout.

Here is the calibrated part. The original rat study has been criticized on methodological grounds, and the FDA itself has stated that a review of the evidence does not implicate cyclamate as a carcinogen. A petition to re-approve it has sat pending since 1982. So this is not a story of America catching a danger Europe missed. It is a story of a half-century-old ban that the agency has neither reversed nor strongly re-defended, while the rest of the world reauthorized the sweetener.

Citation 21 CFR 189.135 (cyclamate prohibited); FDA ban since 1969, re-approval petition pending since 1982

Products that commonly contain it

Where it is legal, cyclamate is valued for its sugar-like taste and heat stability. It appears in:

Tabletop sweeteners sold in the EU, Canada, and elsewhere
Diet soft drinks outside the US
Sugar-free preserves and baked goods abroad
Often blended with saccharin, which the two sweeteners mask for each other

What to look for on a label

You will not see this one on a US label, by law. Abroad, look for:

"Sodium cyclamate" or simply "cyclamate" in the ingredient list
"E952" on EU-labeled products
"Sucaryl", a historic brand name
Frequently paired with saccharin (E954) in tabletop blends

Or skip the squinting: paste the whole ingredient list into our checker and it flags everything in our database. Nothing you paste leaves your browser.

Frequently asked questions

Is sodium cyclamate banned in Europe?

No. It is permitted as sweetener E952 under Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008 and is approved in more than 100 countries. It is banned in the United States, not the EU.

Why did the FDA ban cyclamate?

The FDA removed its GRAS status in 1969 after a study linked high doses to bladder tumors in rats. The ban is codified at 21 CFR 189.135. The study has since been criticized methodologically.

Is cyclamate actually dangerous?

The weight of later evidence does not support the original cancer finding, and the FDA has said its review does not implicate cyclamate as a carcinogen. A petition to re-approve it has been pending since 1982, but the ban still stands.

Is this a reverse case?

Yes. Cyclamate is one of the few examples where the US is stricter than the EU. Most "banned in Europe" stories run the other way; this one is the exception that proves the pattern.

Related ingredients

Primary sources

Last reviewed June 15, 2026 · How we assign statuses