Is Aspartame and Acesulfame K Halal in UK?

Answered by Ustadh Salman Younas

Question

Is Aspartame and Acesulfame K halal in UK?

Answer

Aspartame is a sweetener. It seems to be permissible in terms of its ingredients.

However, it is controversial because certain studies link it to specific health problems. These studies are inconclusive, and both the FDA and EFSA deem aspartame to be generally safe. Cancer Research UK and the US National Cancer Institute say the same.

Even if it were conclusively linked to specific health problems, this would not necessarily make it impermissible from a shariah perspective. Instead, the ruling would be premised on the type of harm and its likelihood. At the same time, though permissible to consume, given the indications that it may cause health problems, it may be best to avoid it, especially in regular and/or large quantities.

[Ustadh] Salman Younas
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Born and raised in New York, Ustadh Salman Younas graduated from Stony Brook University with a degree in Political Science and Religious Studies. After studying the Islamic sciences online and with local scholars in New York, Ustadh Salman moved to Amman. There he studied Islamic law, legal methodology, belief, hadith methodology, logic, Arabic, and tafsir. He is now in his final year of his PhD at Oxford University, looking at the early evolution of the Hanafi madhab.
His teachers include: Shaykh Faraz Rabbani, Shaykh Salah Abu’l Hajj, Shaykh Ashraf Muneeb, Shaykh Ahmad Hasanat, Shaykh Hamza Karamali, Shaykh Ahmad Snobar, Shaykh Ali Hani, Shaykh Hamza Bakri, Ustadh Rajab Harun and others.
Ustadh Salman’s personal interests include research into the fields of law/legal methodology, hadith, theology, as well as political theory, government, media, and ethics. He is also an avid traveler and book collector. He currently resides in the UK with his wife.