WHO set to declare aspartame—common sweetener for soft drinks—a carcinogen
A commonly used artificial sweetener in cold drinks across the world, aspartame has recently been found to be “possibly carcinogenic to humans” by the World Health Organisation’s cancer research arm. It has been reported that the substance will be declared a carcinogen by WHO soon.
Aspartame, one of the world’s most common artificial sweeteners, has been found to be “possibly carcinogenic to humans” by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) cancer research arm, and as a result, the substance is set to be declared a carcinogen officially by the global health body on July 14, according to an exclusive report by Reuters.
How much of aspartame is harmful has not yet been finalised, which research is being done by WHO’s expert committee on food additives, JECFA (the Joint WHO and FAO’s Expert Committee on Food Additives). JECFA is also scheduled to publish its result on July 14, says the Reuters report.
According to Dr Pooja Babbar, Consultant, Medical Oncology, CK Birla Hospital, Gurugram, as quoted in Hindustan Times, only if the acceptable daily intake (ADI) reaches 40 to 50 mg per kg per day (the limits set by EU and USA (by FDA)) can aspartame be carcinogenic to the human body. So, a 60 kg adult would have to consume at least 12 cans of diet soft drink every day to achieve that level, she said.
While that may be so, the daily consumption over a long period of time can be risky, according to sources from IARC. They said listing aspartame as a possible carcinogen is intended to motivate more research, which will help agencies, consumers and manufacturers draw firmer conclusions.
Aspartame has been extensively studied for years, with some studies showing consuming large amounts of it and other artificial sweeteners leads to a higher cancer risk, while major food and beverage makers have for decades defended its use. The IARC said it had assessed 1,300 studies in its June review on aspartame.
Among other products, aspartame is used in Coca-Cola diet sodas, Mars’ Extra chewing gum and some Snapple drinks.
Soft drinks giant PepsiCo removed it from sodas in 2015, then brought it back a year later to remove it again finally in 2020.
