Source: Zhitong Finance

People familiar with the matter revealed that the World Health Organization (WHO) cancer research agency will announce next month that aspartame, an artificial sweetener commonly used in sugar-free soft drinks and low-calorie packaged foods, may cause cancer. Sources said that aspartame will first be classified as a “substance likely to cause cancer in humans” by the World Health Organization (WHO)'s cancer research agency, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), in July this year. According to people familiar with the matter, IARC will announce this decision on July 14. Aspartame is one of the most common artificial sweeteners and is commonly used in sugar-free beverages.

According to reports, the FAO/WHO Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) is also reviewing the use of aspartame and will announce its findings simultaneously with the International Agency for Research on Cancer on July 14.

The IARC came to this conclusion after an external expert meeting earlier this month, which mainly relied on all published research evidence to assess which substances are harmful to humans. However, the agency did not consider the amount safe for consumption.

Since 1981, JECFA has maintained that it is safe to consume aspartame within an acceptable daily intake. The acceptable daily intake of aspartame is 40 mg/kg body weight. This means that if an adult weighing 60 kg drinks 12 to 36 bottles of sugar-free drinks a day (the exact number depends on the amount of aspartame in sugar-free drinks), there is a risk of harm to health.

The IARC ruling could have a significant impact, as did previous findings. It concluded in 2015 that glyphosate herbicides “may cause cancer,” and related companies are still feeling the impact.

While IARC's decision could have a huge impact, the agency's previously announced decision has also been subject to some controversy because the agency has issued unnecessary warnings about unavoidable substances or situations. For example, IARC classified red meat consumption and cell phone use as “likely to cause cancer,” similar to aspartame.

Frances Hunt-Wood, secretary general of the International Sweeteners Association, criticized that IARC is not a food safety agency; their assessment of aspartame is not scientifically comprehensive and is largely based on widely questioned research.

Notably, in May of this year, the World Health Organization issued a new guideline on non-sugar sweeteners, recommending that most people avoid non-sugar sweeteners such as acesulfame, aspartame, saccharin, sucralose, and stevia. Last month, the World Health Organization also recommended not to use non-sugar sweeteners for weight control. A 2022 study found that these sweeteners don't help with long-term weight control and may also lead to diabetes, heart attacks, and death.

The World Health Organization says most sweeteners are problematic, including artificial sweeteners such as aspartame and saccharin, and sweeteners derived from plants, such as stevia. The only exceptions are sweeteners made from sugar alcohols, or polyols, which do not fall into the category of non-sugar sweeteners.

Aspartame is one of the most common artificial sweeteners. Aspartame is used for$Coca-Cola (KO.US)$versus$PepsiCo (PEP.US)$unsweetened soft drinks,$Mondelez International (MDLZ.US)$In products such as Mars Extra chewing gum, Baedley drinks, and some Snapple drinks. Artificial sweetener manufacturers include Japan's Ajinomoto Co., Ltd.,$Ingredion (INGR.US)$and Tailai in the UK.

Editor/jayden