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☆ What is aspartame and what do the new WHO rulings mean?
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Discovered in 1965 by American chemist James Schlatter, aspartame is about 200 times sweeter than regular table sugar. One group of experts, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), said aspartame is a "possible carcinogen". For aspartame, this limit is 40 milligrams of aspartame per kilogram of body weight per day. Aspartame's use in food products has been debated for decades and has also prompted some companies to remove the compound from their products. PepsiCo (PEP.O) removed aspartame from Diet Pepsi in 2015 but brought it back a year later.

Persons: James Schlatter, Gunter Kuhnle, Mills, Yoplait, JECFA, Elissa Welle, Savyata Mishra, Deborah Sophia, Caroline Humer, Catherine Evans Organizations: World Health, U.S . Food, Drug Administration, WHO, International Agency for Research, Cancer, FAO, United Kingdom's University of Reading, PepsiCo, Pepsi, FDA, IARC, National Library of Medicine, Thomson Locations: Diet, saccharin, United Kingdom, Spain, France, Italy, Denmark, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, New York, Bengaluru

Aspartame is one of the world's most popular sweeteners, used in products from Coca-Cola diet sodas to Mars' Extra chewing gum. In its first declaration on the additive, announced early on Friday, the Lyon-based International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) said aspartame was a "possible carcinogen". Several scientists not associated with the reviews said the evidence linking aspartame to cancer is weak. There was also some limited evidence that aspartame has some chemical properties that are linked to cancer, the IARC said. Scientists with no links to the WHO reviews said the evidence that aspartame caused cancer was weak.

Persons: Francesco Branca, " Branca, JECFA, Branca, Mary Schubauer, Paul Pharaoh, Pharaoh, Kate Loatman, Frances Hunt, Wood, Richa Naidu, Caroline Humer, Catherine Evans Organizations: World Health Organization, WHO, Agency for Research, Cancer, Food, Agriculture Organization, FAO, Reuters, Cedars Sinai Medical Center, International Council of Beverage Associations, International, Thomson Locations: Lyon, Geneva, United States, Europe, Cedars, Los Angeles

Reuters reported last month that the cancer research arm of the World Health Organization (WHO), known as the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), was set to make that declaration on July 14, according to two sources with knowledge of the process. The designation as "possibly carcinogenic to humans" will provide an incentive to fund more rigorous research into the safety question, toxicology and cancer experts say. "We have been pushing for an IARC review for many years now." But no action was taken until 2022, after aspartame was again nominated for review by CSPI and Melnick in 2019. The research body has said "new evidence" prompted its aspartame review, without giving any details.

Persons: Andy Smith, Smith, Coke, Peter Lurie, Lurie, James Huff, Ron Melnick, CSPI, There's, Samuel Cohen, Erik Millstone, Millstone, Jennifer Rigby, Michele Gershberg, Catherine Evans Organizations: Reuters, World Health Organization, WHO, International Agency for Research, Cancer, MRC, Unit, University of Cambridge, Cola's, Regulators, for Science, Joint Food and Agriculture Organization, U.S . National Institutes of Health, University of Nebraska Medical Center, University of Paris, Britain's University of Sussex, Thomson Locations: United States, U.S, France

[1/4] Diet Coke is seen on display at a store in New York City, U.S., June 28, 2023. Aspartame, used in products from Coca-Cola diet sodas to Mars' Extra chewing gum and some Snapple drinks, will be listed in July as "possibly carcinogenic to humans" for the first time by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), the World Health Organization's (WHO) cancer research arm, the sources said. Pepsico removed aspartame from sodas in 2015, bringing it back a year later, only to remove it again in 2020. Listing aspartame as a possible carcinogen is intended to motivate more research, said the sources close to the IARC, which will help agencies, consumers and manufacturers draw firmer conclusions. But it will also likely ignite debate once again over the IARC's role, as well as the safety of sweeteners more generally.

Persons: Coke, Shannon Stapleton, Health Organization's, JECFA, Nozomi Tomita, Zsuzsanna, Germany’s Bayer, Frances Hunt, Wood, Mars Wrigley, Kate Loatman, –, Jennifer Rigby, Richa Naidu, Michele Gershberg, Mark Potter Organizations: REUTERS, International Agency for Research, Cancer, Health, Joint WHO, Food, Agriculture Organization's, WHO, Reuters, Japan's Ministry of Health, Labour, Welfare, Food Safety Authority, U.S, International, Association, Cargill, International Council of Beverages Associations, Ramazzini Institute, EFSA, Pepsico, Thomson Locations: New York City, U.S, United States, Europe, Geneva, France, Italy, sodas

JECFA, the WHO committee on additives, is also reviewing aspartame use this year. The first group includes substances from processed meat to asbestos, which all have convincing evidence showing they cause cancer, IARC says. Like aspartame, this means there is either limited evidence they can cause cancer in humans, sufficient evidence in animals, or strong evidence about the characteristics. Pepsico removed aspartame from sodas in 2015, bringing it back a year later, only to remove it again in 2020. Listing aspartame as a possible carcinogen is intended to motivate more research, said the sources close to the IARC, which will help agencies, consumers and manufacturers draw firmer conclusions.

Persons: Coke, Shannon Stapleton, Health Organization's, JECFA, Nozomi Tomita, Zsuzsanna, Germany’s Bayer, IARC, Frances Hunt, Wood, Mars Wrigley, Kate Loatman, –, Jennifer Rigby, Richa Naidu, Michele Gershberg, Mark Potter, Susan Fenton Organizations: REUTERS, International Agency for Research, Cancer, Health, Reuters, Joint WHO, Food, Agriculture Organization's, WHO, Japan's Ministry of Health, Labour, Welfare, Food Safety Authority, U.S, International, Association, Cargill, International Council of Beverages Associations, Ramazzini Institute, EFSA, Pepsico, Thomson Locations: New York City, U.S, United States, Europe, Geneva, France, Italy, sodas

Several consumer industry trade bodies - whose members use aspartame - on Thursday rejected the IARC’s assessment. Shoppers can find aspartame in Weight Watchers yoghurts, some Snapple drinks and Conagra’s Mrs. Butterworth’s syrups. “Aspartame has been in use as an intense sweetener for more than 30 years in the UK. In 2014 General Mills (GIS.N) swapped the aspartame in Yoplait Light for the sweetener widely known as Splenda. Sweeteners have varying levels of sweetness and price, and are different chemical compounds, making it difficult to simply swap ingredients.

Persons: Health Organization's, Garrett Nelson, Butterworth’s, ” Nelson, ” Tom Sanders, Mills, Richa Naidu, Savyata Mishra, Jessica DiNapoli, Barbara Lewis Organizations: Reuters, International Agency for Research, Cancer, Health, Joint WHO, Food, Agriculture Organization's, CFRA Research, Shoppers, Nutrition, King’s College London, PepsiCo, Thomson

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