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Aspartame is an artificial sweetener containing phenylanine and aspartic acid. It is about 160 times sweeter than sugar. Some common uses for aspartame are sugarless gum, breath mints, and drinks. However, some other sweeteners such as acesulfame potassium are often used instead because phenylalanine, one of the ingredients in aspartame, can severely affect people with phenylketonuria. Thus products containing aspartame must include a warning usually stating "contains a source of phenylalanine."

The American trade names for the sweetener are Equal and Nutrasweet.