of aspartame.J Toxicol Environ Health 7,

would consume more than this amount, which is equivalent to drink-ing 3.0 L of a carbonated beverage containing 670 mg of aspartanie per liter. If aspartame is promptly hydro-lyzed in the intestinal lumen and if the methanol liberated is rapidly absorbed, metabolized to formate, and distribut-ed to total body water (55 % of body weight) (1), blood formate concentra-tion would be maximally increased by only 9 mg/L (if formate oxidation to CO2 is the rate-limiting step in the metabolism of aspartame methoxy group). We conclude that any increase in blood formate ascribable to metabolism of aspartame would not be sufficient to give rise to formate toxicity