The World Health Organization (WHO) has said that a popular sweetener found in thousands of food products can "possibly" cause cancer.
Aspartame is an artificial sweetener that is used in a wide variety of products, from diet drinks to chewing gum, baked goods and even toothpaste. While the additive has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use in food and drinks, studies have found that aspartame is linked to a range of health problems. These include Type 2 diabetes, obesity, mood and behavioral disorders, hormonal disruption and damage to DNA.
Conclusive evidence is still lacking for many of these associations, and aspartame is generally considered safe if taken within the recommended limits. Michael Lean, a professor of human nutrition at Scotland's University of Glasgow, previously told Newsweek that because of the rigorous testing that these products undergo, the risks from consuming artificial sweeteners are minimal.
"In the Western world at least, regulations about sweeteners are made after extensive specialist reviews of the totality of the evidence and considering evidence quality and reliability," Lean said. "If there were evidence that they have bad effects, let alone major health impacts, they would not be permitted."
Despite this, on Friday the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) and the WHO and Food and Agriculture Organization's Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) classified aspartame as being "possibly carcinogenic to humans."
The two bodies conducted independent reviews to assess the potential risks of aspartame consumption. In particular, there appeared to be "limited evidence" that aspartame could increase your risk of a particular type of liver cancer called hepatocellular carcinoma.
"The assessments of aspartame have indicated that while safety is not a major concern at the doses which are commonly used, potential effects have been described that need to be investigated by more and better studies," Francesco Branca, director of the WHO's Department of Nutrition and Food Safety, said in a statement.
The health risks posed by aspartame are significant only at high levels of consumption. As a result, JECFA concluded that its recent analysis did not indicate a need to change the present daily intake recommendations for aspartame, which are 0 to 40 milligrams per kilogram of body weight per day. In other words, for an adult weighing 154 pounds, you would have to drink over nine cans of diet soda a day to exceed this recommendation.
While the IARC's classification of aspartame as a group 2b substance—one that is "possibly carcinogenic"—may sound concerning, The BMJ (formerly the British Medical Journal) said a long list of other commonly consumed products were also included in this category, including aloe vera, diesel oil and caffeic acid, which is found in tea and coffee.
Also, the FDA has not changed its ruling since the release of this data.
"The FDA can confirm that scientific evidence has continued to support its conclusion that aspartame is safe for the general population when made under good manufacturing practices and used under the approved conditions of use," an FDA spokesperson told Newsweek.
Ingredients added to food for sale in the U.S. must comply with U.S. law, specifically the federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, the spokesperson said. The FDA's scientists "reassess the science about the exposure and safety of a sweetener each time the agency files a food additive petition or a GRAS [generally recognized as safe] notice for that sweetener."
The spokesperson added that the FDA stays abreast of published literature and the current level of consumer exposure and participates in international scientific and standard-setting activities related to food ingredient safety.
Even so, the recent review indicates that more research is needed to fully understand the ways in which aspartame can interact with the body.
Mary Schubauer-Berigan, head of the IARC's Monographs Program, said in a statement: "The findings of limited evidence of carcinogenicity in humans and animals, and of limited mechanistic evidence on how carcinogenicity may occur, underscore the need for more research to refine our understanding on whether consumption of aspartame poses a carcinogenic hazard."
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Pandora Dewan is a Senior Science Reporter at Newsweek based in London, UK. Her focus is reporting on science, health ... Read more
To read how Newsweek uses AI as a newsroom tool, Click here.
