Cancer Concerns Over One Of World's Most Popular Artificial Sweeteners

Aspartame, one of the world's most common artificial sweeteners, has come under renewed scrutiny in the US after a new research linked it to a possible increased cancer risk, according to a report in Washington Post. This comes more than a month after the World Health Organisation (WHO) warned against using artificial sweeteners. In fact, news agency Reuters reported that WHO's cancer research agency is set to declare the popular sugar substitute a possible carcinogen next month. The Reuters report is based on two sources with knowledge of the process.

The Washington Post report said the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved aspartame for human consumption in 1981, but has since reviewed its safety five times. More than 90 countries, including India, have approved its use.

Aspartame has no calories and is approximately 200 times sweeter than table sugar. In a 2009 document, India's food safety and regulation body FSSAI has recommended maximum permitted levels of the artificial sweetener according to the food product it is being used in.

About 95 per cent of carbonated soft drinks that have a sweetener use aspartame, as well as about 90 per cent of ready-to-drink teas, representing a huge amount of the beverage market share.

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The FSSAI has also mandated that products containing aspartame should clearly mention the name of the sweetener.

In the US, meanwhile, the American Beverage Association, which represents leading beverage makers such as Coca-Cola and PepsiCo, have launched a pushback against the FDA scrutiny.

"There is a broad consensus in the scientific and regulatory community that aspartame is safe. It's a conclusion reached time and time again by food safety agencies around the world," Kevin Keane, the beverage association's chief executive, told Washington Post.

"The fact that food safety agencies worldwide, including the FDA, continue to find aspartame safe makes us confident in the safety of our products. And people all over the world should be, too," he added.

The increasing use of artificial sweetener has caused concern across the world. A study was carried out in France last year that found that people who consumed larger amounts of artificial sweeteners, particularly aspartame and acesulfame- K, had a slightly higher cancer risk.

It was based on an analysis of medical history of 100,000 adults.

Meanwhile, Reuters said the WHO's International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) will hold a meeting in July where aspartame will be listed in July as "possibly carcinogenic to humans" for the first time.

The IARC ruling, finalised earlier this month after a meeting of the group's external experts, is intended to assess whether something is a potential hazard or not, based on all the published evidence, said the Reuters report.

It, however, does not take into account how much of a product a person can safely consume.

In May, the WHO had released new guidelines advising against using so-called non-sugar sweeteners or NSS.

A systematic review of available evidence "suggests that use of NSS does not confer any long-term benefit in reducing body fat in adults or children", the UN health agency said.

In addition, results from the review "suggest that there may be potential undesirable effects from long-term use of NSS, such as an increased risk of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and mortality in adults".