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You've always wondered whether aspartame was safe, here is the ultimate answer:
The much-studied artificial sweetener aspartame is indeed safe, according to scientific advisors to the European Union. The EU's Scientific Committee on Food (SCF) conducted a review of scientific research published about aspartame since 1988, when it last reviewed the sweetener's safety.
Issues raised in the past include possible toxicity from methanol, which is formed when aspartame is broken down in the body, and a possible link with epilepsy and brain tumors, which has been disputed.
All these areas have been addressed in scientific studies and reviews of evidence, the committee notes. The sweetener has also been investigated by bodies such as the US Food and Drug Administration, Britain's Committee on Toxicity and the French health regulator, AFSSA, the EU scientists note.
In their report, published on December 10, the committee quotes the French agency on the cancer-causing potential of aspartame: "Taking into account all the studies that have been conducted...it was concluded that aspartame had no carcinogenic potential on the brain in experimental animals."
On the subject of behavioral or neurological changes, the report states that a number of well-designed studies in healthy individuals "failed to highlight any treatment-related adverse effects on behavior." Other studies show that aspartame is no more likely than a dummy-pill to trigger headaches.
The review highlights a range of studies showing no link between aspartame and epilepsy. In particular, it notes that the Epilepsy Institute in the US concluded in 1986 that aspartame is not the cause of epileptic seizures.
As for brain cancer, the committee looked at the one study purporting a link.
"The SCF considered this report and concluded that the data did not support the proposed...increase in the incidence of brain tumors," they write.
"The Committee concluded that on the basis of its review of all the data in animals and humans available to date, there is no evidence to suggest that there is a need to revise the outcome of the earlier risk assessment or the acceptable daily intake previously established for aspartame," the report concludes.
The report can be found at http://www.foodstandards.gov.uk/multimedia/pdfs/aspartameopinio n .pdf
The much-studied artificial sweetener aspartame is indeed safe, according to scientific advisors to the European Union. The EU's Scientific Committee on Food (SCF) conducted a review of scientific research published about aspartame since 1988, when it last reviewed the sweetener's safety.
Issues raised in the past include possible toxicity from methanol, which is formed when aspartame is broken down in the body, and a possible link with epilepsy and brain tumors, which has been disputed.
All these areas have been addressed in scientific studies and reviews of evidence, the committee notes. The sweetener has also been investigated by bodies such as the US Food and Drug Administration, Britain's Committee on Toxicity and the French health regulator, AFSSA, the EU scientists note.
In their report, published on December 10, the committee quotes the French agency on the cancer-causing potential of aspartame: "Taking into account all the studies that have been conducted...it was concluded that aspartame had no carcinogenic potential on the brain in experimental animals."
On the subject of behavioral or neurological changes, the report states that a number of well-designed studies in healthy individuals "failed to highlight any treatment-related adverse effects on behavior." Other studies show that aspartame is no more likely than a dummy-pill to trigger headaches.
The review highlights a range of studies showing no link between aspartame and epilepsy. In particular, it notes that the Epilepsy Institute in the US concluded in 1986 that aspartame is not the cause of epileptic seizures.
As for brain cancer, the committee looked at the one study purporting a link.
"The SCF considered this report and concluded that the data did not support the proposed...increase in the incidence of brain tumors," they write.
"The Committee concluded that on the basis of its review of all the data in animals and humans available to date, there is no evidence to suggest that there is a need to revise the outcome of the earlier risk assessment or the acceptable daily intake previously established for aspartame," the report concludes.
The report can be found at http://www.foodstandards.gov.uk/multimedia/pdfs/aspartameopinio n .pdf
