A comprehensive survey of the consumption of intense sweeteners in Great Britain in 1988 quantified the levels of usage of different sweeteners and identified their distribution between food categories and population subgroups. Saccharin was found to be the most widely used intense sweetener. Beverages were the most common source of intense sweeteners. The quantities consumed of all sweeteners were found to be below the Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI) values established by the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives, the European Commission Scientific Committee for Food or the UK Committee on Toxicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment.