Big fuss: Is the sweetener aspartame carcinogenic?

The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) and the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) published their assessments of the sweetener aspartame on July 13.

Many low-calorie soft drinks and snacks are sweetened with aspartame.

While the IARC concluded in its first assessment that the sweetener aspartame (N-(-α-aspartyl)-phenylalanine methyl ester) "may be carcinogenic", the JECFA expressed itself in its already third assessment in a much more restrained manner and currently sees no reason to consider a change in the permissible daily intake.

The JECFA assessment is based on scientific findings from more than four decades and on numerous assessments by international safety authorities. Both the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and the highest American regulatory authority, the FDA (Food & Drug Administration), currently see no reason to assume a risk for consumers.

How do such superficially contradictory assessments come about, which unsettle consumers worldwide?

In its studies, the IARC only considers the potential of a chemical to cause a health hazard. This and the incomplete data basis are pointed out in the published statement, but this is easily lost in the media coverage. The IARC takes neither consumption studies nor other exposure data into account. However, this is absolutely necessary for a risk assessment with regard to food safety. The IARC has - after glyphosate - once again produced a remarkable headline that, when considered soberly, will have no consequences.

According to the assessment of the authorities responsible for food safety, the consumption of food sweetened with aspartame does not pose a health risk if the acceptable daily intake (ADI) of 40 mg/kg body weight are observed and if consumption habits are taken into account.

YOUR PLUS: The food laboratories of the AGROLAB GROUP also test calorie-reduced foods and food supplements for compliance with the maximum permitted levels for aspartame and other sweeteners.