The US Food and Drug Administration has approved a new artificial sweetener, advantame. A derivative of another artificial sweetener, aspartame, advantame is a free-flowing, water soluble, white crystalline powder that is stable even at higher temperatures, and can be used as a tabletop sweetener as well as in cooking applications, according to the FDA. Its maker, Ajinomoto, says advantame is 20,000 times sweeter than sugar and has no off flavors. Because it blends well with caloric sweeteners, advantame can also be used to reduce the calories of sugared foods and beverages up to 40%. Australia and New Zealand have already okayed advantame, with approval pending in Japan and the European Union. Its the sixth artificial sweetener to win FDA approval, along with aspartame, saccharin, sucralose, neotame and acesulfate potassium (ace-K).