(Which, to clarify, is not to say I consider aspartame in any way beneficial.) Acesulfame potassium , also known as acesulfame K , is a calorie-free sweetener up to 200 times sweeter than sugar and as sweet as aspartame . Xylitol May Have Been to Blame What more than likely happened to occasion this dog’s death, if indeed the story was true (beware: many Internet memes are not), is that the dog consumed a sugar-free yogurt containing xylitol, a sweetening substance increasingly found in all sorts of sugar-free consumer products. acesulfame potassium and acesulfame K are the same exact thing, just named differently. It's often blended with sucralose and used to decrease the bitter aftertaste of aspartame . Recall that Acesulfame potassium is 200 times sweeter than sucrose and that only a small amount should be added in the diet to achieve the same taste that sugar will give. The nickname for acesulfame potassium is "Ace-K", hence the K in acesulfame K. Is Acesulfame Potassium the same thing as aspartame? Aspartame is 200 times sweeter than sugar and, like saccharin, contains no calories. Aspartame , sold under the brand NutraSweet, was discovered accidentally by a scientist at Searle in 1965 who was testing new drugs for gastric ulcers and licked his … Acesulfame potassium (Ace-K) Acesulfame potassium is approved for use in food as a non-nutritive sweetener. Given the acceptable daily intake level, an individual will have to consume about two gallons of beverages containing Acesulfame potassium to meet this level. Aspartame, one of the most common artificial sweeteners, is a combination of two amino acids — phenylalanine and aspartic acid.