The World Health Organization now considers aspartame, an artificial sweetener used in particular in “light” soft drinks, to be “probably carcinogenic to humans”, however the recommended daily dose that is considered harmless is not changing, as it announced today.

“We are not recommending that companies withdraw their products, nor are we recommending that consumers completely stop” consuming it, said Dr. Francesco Branca, Director of the Division of Nutrition, Health and Development at the WHO, presenting the findings of two studies on this sweetener during a press conference.

The WHO’s International Center for Research on Cancer (CIRC) first assessed the level of risk of aspartame. Its experts, who met from June 6 to 13, concluded that this artificial sweetener is “probably carcinogenic to humans” (classification group 2B).

For Paul Pharoah, professor of cancer epidemiology at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, “the general public does not need to be concerned about the risk of cancer associated with any group 2B chemical.”

In the same group are aloe vera extract and caffeic acid, he added.

9 to 14 boxes per day

The decision to place aspartame in this group was based on “limited data” on human cancer, particularly hepatocellular carcinoma, a type of liver cancer, the WHO explained.

Limited laboratory animal cancer data were also utilized.

“The limited evidence for hepatocellular carcinoma comes from three studies” conducted in the US and ten European countries. These are “the only epidemiological studies on liver cancer”, explained Dr. Mary Schubauer-Berrigan of CIRC.

According to Dr. Branca, further studies will need to be prepared to “clarify the situation further”.

The Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives of WHO and FAO (the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations) met from June 27 to July 6 to assess the risks associated with the consumption of aspartame.

They concluded that the data reviewed did not sufficiently justify changing the allowable daily intake set in 1981, which is a maximum of 40 milligrams per kilogram of body weight; one can consume aspartame “without risk” within this limit.

As a can of lite soda contains 200 to 300 grams of this sweetener, any adult weighing 70 kg would need to consume 9 to 14 cans a day to exceed the allowable daily allowance, assuming no aspartame intake from other food items.

“The problem is those who consume a lot” of products containing aspartame, he added, but “our results show that occasional consumption does not pose a risk.”

“In-Depth Review”

This artificial sweetener, with no nutritional value, has been used since the 1980s. Mainly in low-calorie drinks such as soft drinks, ready meals, chewing gum, pharmaceutical products such as cough drops, and in other products, such as toothpastes.

Reacting to these studies, the International Sweeteners Association (ISA) pointed out that group 2B, in which aspartame has been classified, is the same as that in which kimchi and other marinated vegetables have been included.

The joint committee “has once again reaffirmed the safety of aspartame after conducting an in-depth, comprehensive and scientifically rigorous assessment”, said ISA general secretary Frances Hunt-Wood.

But for Camille Dorioz, head of campaigns for the non-governmental organization Foodwatch in France, the WHO announcement has a rather “bitter taste”: as, he emphasizes, this “probably carcinogenic sweetener should not have a place in food and drinks us”.

Aside from the cancer issue, the WHO recently pointed out that sugar-free artificial sweeteners are not helpful in weight loss efforts.

In any case, if one has to choose “between a cola with sweetener and a cola with sugar, I think the best choice is the third: drink water,” commented Dr. Branca.