According to two organisations affiliated with the World Health Organisation (WHO), the sweetener aspartame is a “possible carcinogen” but is nonetheless safe to take in moderation and at predetermined amounts.
The sweetener, which is present in diet drinks and many other foods, was identified as a “possible” cause of cancer by the WHO’s cancer agency in reviews published early on Friday. However, a different expert group that examined the same evidence maintained that the sugar substitute is safe in moderation.
The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), a distinct division of the WHO, provided one review. The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), another UN organisation, and WHO jointly chose the expert panel that produced the other report.
“We’re not advising consumers to stop consuming [aspartame] altogether,” the WHO’s nutrition director Dr Francesco Branca said on Friday. “We’re just advising a bit of moderation,” he said.
In a press conference held before to the announcement, Branca made an effort to clarify the seemingly contradictory statements for consumers, particularly those looking for artificial sweeteners to replace sugar.
“If consumers are faced with the decision of whether to take cola with sweeteners or one with sugar, I think there should be a third option considered – which is to drink water instead,” he said.
Aspartame was classified as a “possible carcinogen” by the Lyon-based IARC in its initial assessment of the food additive. According to this classification, there is little proof that a chemical might cause cancer.
The amount that a person would need to ingest in order to be at risk is taken into account by a different committee, the WHO and FAO Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA), which is situated in Geneva.
After conducting its own in-depth investigation, JECFA stated on Friday that it did not possess compelling proof that aspartame was harmful. Despite this, JECFA continues to advise consumers to limit their daily aspartame intake to under 40 mg/kg.
This threshold was initially established in 1981, and regulators all over the world provide comparable instructions to their populations.
The data connecting aspartame to cancer is weak, according to some scientists who were not involved in the reviews. Aspartame is safe and a good option for consumers who wish to cut sugar from their diets, according to associations in the food and beverage industry that commented on the rulings.
According to the WHO, based on the average aspartame amount in the drinks, a person weighing between 60 and 70 kg (132 and 154 lbs) would need to drink more than 9 to 14 cans of soft drinks per day to exceed the limit.
“Our results do not indicate that occasional consumption could pose a risk to most consumers,” Branca said.
According to him, the WHO is advising manufacturers and consumers to use moderation rather than completely removing aspartame from products.
Branca stated that cancer is a primary cause of death worldwide, with one in six people dying from the disease each year in a statement announcing the assessment results.
“Science is continuously expanding to assess the possible initiating or facilitating factors of cancer, in the hope of reducing these numbers and the human toll,” he said.
“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,” he added.
