Expert Opinions
Aspartame is one of the best food ingredients exhaustively studied and it has been tested in more than 100 scientific studies prior to FDA approval in 1981. The studies were conducted in laboratory animals and humans, including infants, children, healthy adults, lactating women, diabetics, obese people and people with the rare genetic disease phenylketonuria (PKU). In addition to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) of the World Health Organization (WHO) and Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the Scientific Committee Food (SCF) of the European Union and regulatory agencies of more than 100 countries have reviewed aspartame and found that its use was safe.
The American Dietetic Association (ADA) recently conducted a systematic review of existing scientific literature related to aspartame and concluded that "consumption of aspartame is not associated with adverse effects in the general population. Studies have found no evidence of effect of aspartame on a wide range of adverse effects, including hypersensitivity reactions, blood concentrations of methanol or formate high of hematopoietic or brain cancers. Neurological changes analyzed included cognitive function, seizures, headaches and changes in memory and mood. "
Following the approval of aspartame, extensive further research has been conducted on aspartame, will support its safety for the general population. In fact, aspartame has been tested for over three decades in over 200 studies, with the same result: Aspartame is safe.
In 2007, an extensive evaluation of the safety of over 500 studies related to aspartame, "Aspartame: a safety assessment based on current usage rates, regulations, and toxicological and epidemiological studies" was published in Critical Reviews in Toxicology . "The expert panel concluded that aspartame is a safe sweetener, which has been studied exhaustively and can help reduce the calorie content of many foods," said Dr. Berna Magnuson, lead author of the analysis, senior scientist, consultant for regulatory Cantox Health Sciences International and assistant professor of Nutritional Sciences, University of Toronto. The panel also concluded that rates of aspartame found in the human diet are not a problem for health, there is no credible link between aspartame and diseases linked to the nervous system and behavior, or any other symptom or disease and there is no evidence indicating a genetic toxicity or carcinogenicity of credible evidence, or evidence to support a link combining aspartame and the development of obesity.
Aspartame Experts
The Food and Drug Administration, the Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) of the World Health Organization, the Scientific Committee for Food of the European Community and regulatory agencies in more than 100 countries have reviewed aspartame and found it safe for use. The American Medical Association, the American Dietetic Association and the American Diabetes Association also have found aspartame safe.
