2023-07-13 23:17:06
He aspartame, an artificial sweetener widely used in soft drinks and other food productsis “possibly” carcinogenic to humans, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday, although without changing the daily dose considered safe.
“We are not advising companies to recall their products or advising consumers to stop using them completely.”clarified Francesco Branca, director of the Department of Nutrition, Health and Development of the WHO, in the presentation of two evaluations on this sweetener.
The WHO’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) first assessed the hazard level of aspartame. The experts, who met from June 6 to 13, concluded that the sweetener “may be carcinogenic to humans“, which includes it in group 2B of the IARC classification.
According to Paul Pharoah, a professor of cancer epidemiology at Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles., “The general public should not be concerned about the cancer risk associated with a chemical classified in group 2B.” Other products included in this group include aloe vera extract or caffeic acid, he points out.
Aspartame: the risks of the sweetener that is used in drinks, yogurts and jams and is possibly carcinogenic
The decision to include aspartame in that group was made on the basis of “limited indications” related to the cancer in humans, in particular for hepatocellular carcinoma, a type of liver cancer, according to the WHO. Limited indications with respect to cancer were also observed in laboratory animals.
“Limited indications on hepatocellular carcinoma come from three studies” made in the United States and in ten European countries. These are the only epidemiological studies on liver cancer,” said Dr. IARC’s Mary Schubauer-Berigan.
The WHO/FAO (Food and Agriculture Agency of the United Nations) Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives also assessed the risks associated with aspartame between June 27 and July 6. In this case, he concluded that the data did not provide sufficient reasons to justify a modification of the permissible daily dose established since 1981.
This dose is a maximum of 40mg per kilogram of body weight and means that a person can safely consume aspartame within that limit. A 70 kg adult would have to consume between 9 and 14 cans of a “light” soft drink (with 200 to 300 mg of sweetener) per day to exceed the allowable dose, assuming that they have not ingested aspartame contained in other products.
“The problem arises for large consumers” of products containing aspartame, he warned.but “the results do not indicate that occasional consumption presents a risk”.
The WHO published a strong statement on the use of sugar-free sweeteners for dieting
Aspartame, a long-controversial artificial sweetener
This synthetic sweetener is derived from the combination of two amino acids, phenylalanine and aspartic acid, from which its name comes, which are part of the composition of proteins. It was discovered by chance in 1965. by a chemist from the Searle pharmaceutical company who was looking for an ulcer treatment.
This food additive is a low calorie artificial sweetener. Its energy value is similar to that of sugar (4 kcal/g) but its sweetening power is 200 times higher, which means that a much smaller amount is needed to obtain a comparable flavor.
Not the first sweetener. Its ancestor, saccharin, discovered in 1879, has the same sweetening power, but with a bitter taste.
Where is it located?
Aspartame is found in thousands of products called “light”, “light” or “0%”: drinks, desserts, sweets, dairy products, chewing gum, hypocaloric or slimming products. It is also a table sweetener, the little “sugar” that is put in the coffee. In addition, it is present in more than 600 medicines.
Currently, it is estimated that 200 million people around the world consume it on a regular basis.
When did it go on the market?
Its first marketing authorization was granted in the United States by the FDA, the country’s drug regulatory agency, in 1974. Due to possible toxic and carcinogenic effects on the brain, the authorization was suspended a few months later.
But it was restored in 1981 in the United States in solid foods and in 1983 in liquids. Since then, more than 90 countries have authorized it.
The Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI) of aspartame was established in 1980 at 40 mg/kg of body weight by the Expert Committee on Food Additives of the Food and Agriculture Agency of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Food Organization. Health (WHO).
An adult weighing 70 kg should then consume between 9 and 14 cans of a “light” soft drink (with 200 to 300 mg of sweetener) per day to exceed the permitted dose.assuming you have not ingested aspartame contained in other products.
Why is it controversial?
Since aspartame appeared on the market, rarely has a product caused so much controversy. In 2010, researchers in Bologna, Italy, demonstrated, among other things, that the consumption of this “fake sugar” caused a significant increase in the incidence of cancers (particularly liver and lung) in male rodents.
Another study, carried out by Danish scientists, showed that same year that the product increases the risk of preterm birth.
In December 2013, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) indicated, after a detailed review, that aspartame and its derivative products were safe for human consumption if the recommended daily dose was respected.
Two years later, its French equivalent, ANSES, indicated that there were no available data demonstrating proven cancer risks, although some studies underline “the need to deepen knowledge” in this regard.
Since then, the WHO considers, among other things, that artificial sweeteners do not allow weight loss and could pose long-term health risks.
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