E968 — Erythritol
E968 (Erythritol), a sweetener, is rated "watch": fine in moderation. A zero-calorie sugar alcohol popular in keto products. A 2023 Cleveland Clinic study (Witkowski et al., Nature Medicine) linked high blood erythritol to heart attack and stroke.
What is Erythritol?
A sugar alcohol about 70% as sweet as sugar. The dominant sweetener in keto, low-carb, and zero-calorie products since 2018, plus many "stevia" tabletop blends use it as the bulking agent.
What does it do to the body?
Until recently considered the most digestion-friendly polyol because it's absorbed and excreted in urine rather than fermented. A 2023 Cleveland Clinic study (Witkowski et al.) found that high blood levels correlated with heart attack and stroke over three years, and showed in lab tests that erythritol makes blood platelets clump more easily. Causal proof is still pending; people with existing cardiovascular risk may want to limit intake until more data lands.
What regulators say
EFSA reaffirmed safety in 2015 with no numerical acceptable daily intake. The FDA approves it as GRAS. Neither has revised their position since the 2023 study.
Risk rating: Watch
Mixed evidence or a specific concern (gut, allergy, or contested safety data). Not alarming, but worth keeping an eye on rather than eating without limit.
Source: Witkowski et al. — Nature Medicine (2023) ↗