Aspartame a ‘possible carcinogen’ says WHO cancer group

Aspartame — a popular artificial sweetener found in diet sodas, breakfast cereals, medications, toothpaste and more — will be declared a possible carcinogen by the World Health Organization’s (WHO) cancer research division next month, according to reports.

The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) is about to declare aspartame a “possibly carcinogenic to humans” after review by independent international experts, two sources with knowledge of the process told Reuters Thursday.

The IARC told the Star it had “assessed the potential carcinogenic effect of aspartame,” but it had not investigated how likely this harm is to occur, including measuring how much aspartame one can safely consume in a day. That is being handled by the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA), an agency spokesman said; both the IARC and JECFA reports will be published on July 14.

From what we already know about aspartame, it’s still safe to consume in moderate amounts, experts tell the Star — but be careful if you use it “in excess”.

What is a “possible carcinogen?”

There are four categories of cancer risk determined by the IARC – from most concerning to least, these are: “carcinogenic to humans”, “probably carcinogenic”, “possibly carcinogenic” and finally “not classifiable as to carcinogenicity in humans”.

“Possible carcinogens” are when a substance has limited evidence about cancer risk in humans, “sufficient” evidence in animals and “strong” evidence that the substance shares important characteristics with known carcinogens, according to the IARC.

This The title “possibly carcinogenic” currently covers more than 300 substancesfrom gasoline engine exhaust to some types of chlorinated paraffins, recently discovered in commercial products and toys sold across Canada.

Aspartame has been studied extensively since its inception in 1965. The IARC’s latest findings come after months of screening more than 7,000 studies, of which about 1,300 were included in the final review.

That said, without JECFA’s risk analysis, it’s hard to say how seriously we should take this report, said David Ma, a nutrition and cancer research professor at the University of Guelph: “There are safe limits for consumption of aspartame.”

Is aspartame bad for you?

Aspartame may be linked to cancer, but that doesn’t mean it’s necessarily dangerous — it depends on how much you consume.

For a 60 kg (or about 130 lb) person, “the threshold for adverse health effects (from aspartame) is something in the range of 12 to 36 cans of diet soda,” Ma said. “That’s a lot — so it’s generally low risk based on current science.”

More specifically, in 1981, the JECFA ranked the acceptable daily intake of aspartame as 40 milligrams per kilogram of body weight per day. With canned diet soda averages about 200 milligrams of the sweetenerthat’s about 12 drinks a day for a 60 kg person.

“If you drink the occasional can of diet soda, I wouldn’t worry too much,” Mom said. “Although I would be very concerned if you drink more than 10 or more glasses a day, consuming some kind of artificial sweetener.”

That said, this figure was based on more than 40 years of data. Whether JECFA’s recommendations have changed since then will be revealed in July.

While the downsides of aspartame are debatable, so are the benefits, said Reinhold Vieth, emeritus professor of nutritional sciences and laboratory medicine at the University of Toronto.

“There is absolutely no evidence that a person is healthier by consuming products that contain artificial sweeteners in general,” Vieth said in an email to the Star. “…My family and I have long avoided artificial sweeteners for reasons beyond any awareness of cancer risk.”

Clouded research on aspartame

Despite the many studies on the topic, it’s hard to parse how aspartame might affect us in everyday life, Ma said. For example, the amounts of aspartame tested in the lab can be vastly different from the amounts we consume on a daily basis.

“In these studies, very large amounts are tested and may not equate to usual consumption,” Ma continued. “Back to our diet soda analogy: On average, someone consumes just one (soft drink) every other day — but in the study, they may test (exposure to the equivalent of) 10 to 20 cans per day.”

This becomes especially murky when it comes to cancer, which often takes years or even decades to develop after exposure.

“There is still a need for long-term studies to determine whether something causes cancer. It will take many years to figure it out,’ Ma said. “So where a lot of the data comes from is using experimental models and animal models or cell culture, and then trying to extrapolate (to humans).”

Backlash in the industry

Already voices from the beverage and sweetener industry are opposing IARC’s findings.

In a press release on Thursday, the International Council of Beverages Associations said the agency’s “leaked opinion contradicts decades of high-quality scientific evidence and could needlessly mislead consumers into consuming more sugar instead of choosing safe, no-and-dairy options.” low in sugar – all on the basis of low-quality studies.”

The council then quoted a 2022 Systematic Review by WHO who found “no significant association” between non-nutritive sweeteners such as aspartame and cancer mortality.

“We remain confident in the safety of aspartame given the overwhelming weight of scientific evidence and positive safety determinations by food safety authorities in more than 90 countries around the world,” the group’s executive director, Kate Loatman, said in the release.

The International Sweeteners Association, of which PepsiCo, Mars Wrigley and a Coca-Cola unit are members, also issued a statement saying, “The ISA is deeply concerned about preliminary speculation about IARC opinion, which may mislead consumers about the safety of aspartame.”

Popular articles containing aspartame

Aspartame isn’t limited to all types of diet soda – it’s used as an artificial sweetener in a wide variety of goods, some of which you may not be aware of.

These include: table-top sweeteners, gum and candy, gelatin, cereals, ice cream, sugar-free cocoa mix, medications (such as cough drops or gummy vitamins), toothpaste, and more.

Ma also warns that products containing artificial sweeteners may not list exactly how much of the compound they contain, so shoppers should be wary. But if you cook for yourself and avoid highly processed foods, he says there’s “little to worry about.”

Consuming aspartame “occasionally is fine, based on current data, but at too high a level we could get into trouble,” he continued. “My wife hates this post, but everything in moderation. And I think that applies in this case.”

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