Two organisations connected to the World Health Organisation (WHO) proclaim Aspartame, a well-known artificial non-sugar sweetener used in food and beverage goods, to be a “possible carcinogen” on Thursday, July 13.
The Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) of the World Health Organisation (WHO) and Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) produced assessments of the effects of aspartame on human health.
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 yoghurt and breakfast 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.
Branca claims that while safety is not a big problem at the levels that are frequently used, possible consequences have been described that require further and more effective research.
To evaluate the potential carcinogenic risk and other health hazards connected with aspartame use, the two organisations carried out separate but complementary reviews. According to the WHO, this was the IARC’s first evaluation of aspartame and its third of JECFA.
Both studies have highlighted gaps in the evidence for cancer (and other health impacts) after studying the pertinent scientific literature.
