 Does Aspartame Really Cause Cancer?
By WLR Dietitian
Last month, another food scare hit the headlines. This time
the papers were full of reports that the artificial sweetener,
aspartame, may cause cancer. The press furore exploded after
Liberal Democrat MP, Roger Williams, said that items containing
aspartame should be taken off the shelves because strong
scientific evidence revealed the components of aspartame and
their metabolites could have a serious toxic effect on humans.
Interestingly, his comments in the House of Commons came six
months after the publication of the research from Italy that
linked aspartame to cancer in rats. The research from the
European Ramazzini Foundation of Oncology and Environmental
Sciences was published in the European Journal of Oncology in
June. Researchers found that aspartame added to feed caused a
statistically significant increase in lymphomas and leukaemias
in female rats.
Unsurprisingly, the Aspartame Information Service claims the
comments about the safety of aspartame appear to be ‘an
attempt by Roger Williams to obtain publicity by scaring
consumers about a safe and beneficial food ingredient’. The
Aspartame Information Service also states the findings of the
Italian study are inconsistent with the extensive body of
scientific research that exists about aspartame, and confirm
this popular artificial sweetener is safe. But can we really
trust this conclusion?
At the moment, it would seem we can. In the past 20 years,
aspartame has undergone many safety reviews – and has
consistently been shown to be completely safe. The most recent
of these safety reviews was carried out by the European
Commission’s Scientific Committee on Food (SCF), who reviewed
more than 500 papers published in the scientific literature
between 1988 and 2001 on the safety of aspartame. Its review
included studies supporting the safety of aspartame and others
pointing to potential adverse effects. Following this extensive
review, the SCF concluded aspartame was safe.
In fact, the safety of aspartame has been confirmed by the
regulatory authorities in more than 130 countries including the
European Commission’s Scientific Committee on Food,
America’s Food and Drug Administration and by experts within
the United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organisation and the
World Health Organisation. Furthermore, the UK’s Food
Standards Agency don’t recommend that consumers make any
changes to their diet at the current time.
However, in view of this new Italian research, the European
Food Safety Authority is undertaking an urgent assessment of the
study to establish whether there are any implications for human
health. Once its findings have been delivered, health advice may
change. But in the meantime, there appears to insufficient
evidence to recommend avoiding aspartame.
WLR says:
Aspartame is an intense sweetener that’s around 200 times
sweeter than sugar. It’s sometimes referred to by its original
trade name of NutraSweet and appears on ingredient lists either
as ‘aspartame’ or ‘E951’. It’s typically found in many
sugar-free or ‘diet’ products including cola, chewing gum,
yoghurts and desserts. Plus it’s the main ingredient in many
artificial sweeteners typically used for drinks and cereals.
At the moment, the major health organisations maintain that
aspartame is safe to use. However, like the Food Standards
Agency, we recognise that some consumers may wish to avoid foods
containing this sweetener. If you want to limit your intake,
avoid foods that include the words ‘aspartame’ or E951 in
the ingredients list – you’ll find it most commonly in
products labelled ‘diet’, ‘sugar-free’ or
‘reduced-sugar’. In the meantime, swap diet colas or
squashes for sparkling water or diluted pure fruit juice, mix
low-fat natural yoghurt with fresh fruit instead or grabbing a
pot of sugar-free fruit yoghurt and try fruit salad with a
meringue instead of a ready-made dessert. And don’t forget
that 1tsp of sugar only provides 16 calories!
For more information log on to:
www.food.gov.uk/safereating/chemsafe
/additivesbranch/sweeteners/55174
www.aspartame.info
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