Outrage Over Unnecessary Fears Sparked by WHO’s Aspartame Cancer Ruling as Agency Now Insists Sweetener IS Safe
Warnings that an artificial sweetener can cause cancer sparked unnecessary panic, experts warned today. World Health Organization bosses last night confirmed aspartame will be classed as ‘possibly carcinogenic to humans’ following a major safety review.
But its guidance — that an 11 stone (70kg) adult can drink 14 cans of a diet drink per day — will not change. This is because aspartame only poses a definite risk to those who consume massive amounts, the UN agency concluded.
The conclusions sparked fury among leading experts who claimed fears about the sweetener were overblown in a bid to get people to eat healthier.
US health chiefs, who dismissed the same studies considered by the WHO two years ago over their ‘significant shortcomings’, poured scorn on the agency for forcing the public to navigate ‘different information from health organizations’.
Aspartame, which has been used since the 80s, is found in products like Diet Coke, Extra chewing gum and Muller Light yoghurts. The WHO’s landmark ruling came from two separate subsidiary bodies.
The declaration of aspartame being a possible carcinogen was made by the IARC, or the International Agency for Research on Cancer. Its decision was based on limited evidence collated over the past two decades that it can cause hepatocellular carcinoma – a type of liver cancer.
Over the years, some studies have also suggested it is carcinogenic to animals and highlighted possible mechanisms explaining the link. The IARC panel assessed the risk as 2B, meaning there is limited but not convincing evidence.
This ruling only relates to how strong the evidence is in terms of a substance causing cancer, not how much of a risk it poses. Instead, that particular question was left to the Joint WHO and Food and Agriculture Organization’s Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) to answer.
It concluded that there is no convincing evidence that aspartame can cause cancer if consumed within limits already set out by the WHO. Current safe limits are set at 40mg per kg body weight per day.
As well as soft drinks, aspartame is also an ingredient in some ice creams, gelatine, breakfast cereal, toothpaste, cough medicine and chewable vitamins. Professor Gunter Kuhnle, an expert in nutrition and food science at the University of Reading, told sources: ‘The worry was overblown.
‘It is unfortunate, as aspartame (and other sweeteners) are one way to reduce sugar intake while maintaining a sweet taste. Using a health scare and misrepresentation of data to convince people to change their diet is, in my opinion, a rather unethical approach.’
Professor Tom Sanders, a dietetics expert at King’s College London, added: ‘I think it is important to separate hypothetical risks from hazards to health.’ The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) responded with a scathing take-down of the WHO’s conclusion that aspartame is a possible carcinogen to humans.
It said: ‘FDA scientists reviewed the scientific information included in IARC’s review in 2021 when it was first made available and identified significant shortcomings in the studies on which IARC relied. We note that JECFA did not raise safety concerns for aspartame under the current levels of use and did not change the Acceptable Daily Intake.’
The FDA noted that aspartame is ‘one of the most studied food additives in the human food supply’ and its scientists have no safety concerns about its use ‘under approved conditions’.
It added: ‘Some consumers may rely on products with aspartame and other sweeteners to help reduce their sugar consumption. We recognize that navigating different information from health organizations is challenging. We will continue to provide reliable, science-based information on aspartame and other sweeteners on the FDA’s website to help consumers make informed choices.’
Aspartame’s cancer reclassification was first leaked last month, in a decision which sent shockwaves through the global food manufacturing market.
