Acesulfame potassium is a synthetic sweetener developed in the late 1960s by German chemists. Common Uses: Diet and “zero” soft drinks, sugar-free chewing gums, candies, and desserts, low-calorie yoghurts and baked goods (heat stable, unlike aspartame), tabletop sweetener blends (with aspartame, sucralose, or cyclamate), pharmaceuticals and oral hygiene products for palatability.