Aspartame Hazard - Non-Sugar Sweetener

The World Health Organization (WHO), the Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA), and the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) have all released assessments of the non-sugar sweetener aspartame's effects on human health today. IARC classified aspartame as probably carcinogenic to humans (IARC Group 2B) due to "limited evidence" for its carcinogenicity in humans, while JECFA reiterated the recommended daily consumption of 40 mg/kg body weight.

Since the 1980s, diet drinks, chewing gum, gelatin, ice cream, dairy goods including yogurt and morning cereal, toothpaste, and pharmaceuticals like cough drops and chewable vitamins have all employed aspartame, an artificial (chemical) sweetener.

"One of the biggest causes of death worldwide is cancer. Cancer claims the lives of 1 in 6 people each year. In an effort to lower these figures and the human toll, science is constantly developing to evaluate potential beginning or facilitating factors of cancer, according to Dr. Francesco Branca, Director of the Department of Nutrition and Food Safety, WHO. "While safety is not a major concern at the doses that are commonly used," the assessments of aspartame have shown, "potential effects have been described that need to be investigated by more and better studies."

To evaluate the potential carcinogenic risk and other health hazards connected with aspartame intake, the two organizations carried out separate but complementary reviews. IARC had never assessed aspartame before, although JECFA has done so three times.

Both analyses recognized gaps in the evidence for cancer (and other health impacts) after reading the pertinent scientific literature.

A kind of liver cancer called hepatocellular carcinoma, for which there is particular evidence, led the IARC to classify aspartame as probably carcinogenic to humans (Group 2B). Additionally, there was scant evidence of cancer in research animals and scant information regarding potential cancer-causing pathways.

JECFA came to the conclusion that there was insufficient evidence to justify changing the previously defined recommended daily intake (ADI) for aspartame, which is 0 to 40 mg/kg body weight. Therefore, the committee reiterated that it is safe for a person to ingest up to this daily limit. For instance, an adult weighing 70 kg would need to consume more than 9–14 cans of diet soft drinks per day, assuming no further intake from other food sources, to go above the permissible daily intake.

By identifying an agent's particular characteristics and potential for harm, such as cancer, the IARC's hazard identifications are the first important step in understanding the carcinogenicity of an agent. The strength of the scientific evidence supporting a substance's ability to cause human cancer is reflected in IARC classifications, but not the likelihood that a person would get cancer at a certain exposure level. All exposure categories (such as food and occupational) are taken into account during the IARC hazard evaluation. The third highest level of the four categories of the strength-of-evidence classification, Group 2B, is typically employed when there is either weak but not conclusive evidence for cancer in humans or strong but not both conclusive evidence for cancer in experimental animals.

Dr. Mary Schubauer-Berigan of the IARC Monographs program said, "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 clarify whether consumption of aspartame poses a carcinogenic hazard."

JECFA's risk assessments establish the likelihood that a certain form of harm, such as cancer, may manifest under particular circumstances and exposure levels. JECFA frequently considers IARC categories while making decisions.

According to Dr. Moez Sanaa, WHO's Head of the Standards and Scientific Advice on Food and Nutrition Unit, "JECFA also considered the evidence on cancer risk, in animal and human studies, and concluded that the evidence of an association between aspartame consumption and cancer in humans is not convincing." "In the present cohorts, we need better research with longer follow-up and repeated dietary questionnaires. Randomized controlled trials are required, as well as investigations into the molecular processes involved in the regulation of insulin, metabolic syndrome, and diabetes, particularly in relation to carcinogenicity.

Based on scientific data gathered from a variety of sources, including peer-reviewed papers, government reports, and studies carried out for regulatory purposes, the IARC and JECFA evaluated the effects of aspartame. Both committees have taken procedures to assure the independence and trustworthiness of their assessments, which have been verified by independent experts who have evaluated the studies.

IARC and WHO will continue to keep an eye on new information and support independent research teams in their efforts to do more studies on the potential link between aspartame exposure and consumer health impacts.

Reference: WHO