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Ingredient register

Saccharin

Caution Artificial additive Both food and personal care E954

Decode Label flags Saccharin as a low concern in both food and personal care (artificial additive). It appears in 19 of the 912 published products we have analysed (2.1%).

The concern

Intense artificial sweetener - widely used in toothpaste; not a classified carcinogen

Saccharin is an approved intense sweetener and is used in small amounts to flavour toothpaste. An earlier rodent-bladder finding was judged not relevant to humans and IARC moved it to Group 3 (not classifiable) in 1999. The WHO (2023) nevertheless advises against relying on non-sugar sweeteners for weight control. In toothpaste the amount swallowed is very small.

Most relevant to

Children People who are pregnant

Cited authority

IARC Monographs Vol. 73 (1999); WHO guideline on non-sugar sweeteners (2023); EFSA/JECFA acceptable daily intake

How common it is in this catalogue

Measured across every product Decode Label has analysed — not estimated, and not taken from anyone else's dataset.

19 of 912 published products 2.1%

By category

Oral Care 19

Identity

E number
E954

Also appears on labels as

Sodium Saccharin Saccharin Sodium Calcium Saccharin Potassium Saccharin Saccharine

Questions

Is Saccharin safe?

The concern is cited to IARC Monographs Vol. 73 (1999); WHO guideline on non-sugar sweeteners (2023); EFSA/JECFA acceptable daily intake. Why it is flagged: Intense artificial sweetener - widely used in toothpaste; not a classified carcinogen. Decode Label treats it as a low concern in both food and personal care. It appears in 19 of the 912 published products we have analysed (2.1%).

How common is Saccharin in Indian packaged products?

Decode Label found Saccharin in 19 of 912 published products (2.1%), most often in Oral Care.

Who should be most careful with Saccharin?

Children; People who are pregnant.

Products containing Saccharin

19 published products, each with its own full analysis.

Colgate Active Salt Toothpaste Colgate Max Fresh Toothpaste, Red Gel Paste with Men... Colgate MaxFresh Breath Freshner Oral Care Toothpast... Colgate Sensitive Everyday Protection Toothpaste Colgate Strong Teeth Colgate Strong Teeth Calcium-Boost Toothpaste Colgate Swarna Vedshakti Ayurvedic Cavity Protection... Colgate Visible White O2, Teeth Whitening Toothpaste DABUR Herb'L Activated Charcoal Toothpaste 240G Dabur Babool Ayurvedic Toothpaste Dabur Herb'l Clove Cavity Protection Toothpaste Dabur Herb'l Neem Germ Protection Toothpaste Dabur Red Bae Fresh Gel Dabur Red Paste - India's No.1 Ayurvedic Paste Dabur Red Toothpaste SHY-XT Xtra Care Toothpaste with Xylitol STIM Spark Instant Whitening Toothpaste Sensodyne Toothpaste Fresh Mint Sensodyne Toothpaste Rapid Relief

Related ingredients

Other entries in the register with the same kind of concern.

Allura Red AC Carmoisine Ponceau 4R Quinoline Yellow Sunset Yellow FCF Tartrazine

Method and limits

  • Prevalence counts published products whose decoded ingredient list matches this substance or one of its label synonyms, using the same matching the score itself uses. It describes our catalogue of 912 products, not the Indian market as a whole.
  • Presence is not dose. An ingredient list gives order, not quantity, unless the pack declares a percentage. Nothing here estimates how much of this substance any product contains.
  • A classification is not a verdict on a product. An agency classifies a substance under defined conditions of exposure; whether that matters in a given food or cosmetic depends on route, concentration and use.
  • No regulatory rows. This substance is not matched in our regulatory warehouse, so the concern above rests on the cited authority alone.
  • Last updated. This register entry was last changed on 3 November 2026.
  • Corrections. Every figure here is reproducible from the sources named. If something is wrong, tell us and we will correct it and say what changed.