The World Health Organization (WHO) Agency for Cancer Research has named the sweetener aspartame a possible carcinogen. It has been reported Yahoo News.
Aspartame, one of the most common sweeteners, will be listed by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) as “possibly carcinogenic to humans” for the first time in July, according to Yahoo News sources. The IARC decision was made after reviewing 1,300 published scientific studies and will be made public on 14 July.
In 2022, a large French study of 100,000 adults found that people who consumed more artificial sweeteners, including aspartame, had a slightly higher risk of developing cancer. In the early 2000s, scientists reported that some cancers in mice and rats were associated with aspartame, but could not prove a causal relationship.
Another body, the WHO Committee on Food Additives (JECFA), will also review recommendations for aspartame consumption. In 1981, the committee concluded that aspartame is safe to consume within acceptable limits. It is estimated that a 60 kg adult would need to drink 12 to 36 cans of diet soda (depending on the amount of aspartame in the beverage) each day to be detrimental to his health. JECFA recommendations are followed by national regulators, including those in the US and Europe.
Other IARC regulations in the past have been criticized by manufacturers for believing that committee estimates could mislead the public and hurt company profits. For example, in 2015 the agency concluded that the herbicide glyphosate was “possibly carcinogenic.” Not only manufacturers but also government officials such as the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) objected to this decision. Complaints also concerned the quality of the studies reviewed.
IARC’s decisions have also been criticized for creating anxiety among consumers who cannot give up on this or that factor. The committee had previously classified night work, such as aspartame, and red meat as “probably cancer-causing” and cell phone use as “probably cancer-causing”.
The sweetener aspartame is approved for use worldwide by regulatory authorities and is often added to foods such as sugar-free drinks.
WHO in May 2022 Recommended Do not use sweeteners for weight control due to the lack of evidence of efficacy and possible adverse health effects.