Auhona Roy Chowdhury, Pune
A World Health Organization (WHO) committee has declared that a daily limited intake of artificial sweetener aspartame is safe. This is in response to the earlier assessment of WHO’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) that declared it as “possibly carcinogenic to humans”.
The new report says that consuming a few aspartame tablets in coffee or tea is unlikely to be harmful, and there is no reason to change the established ADI (acceptable daily intake) of 0–40 mg/kg body weight. Health experts are primarily concerned about the hidden aspartame content in products like diet soda and ice cream.
Aspartame is widely used in various food and beverage products including diet drinks, chewing gum, gelatin, ice cream, dairy products such as yogurt, breakfast cereal, toothpaste, and medications such as cough drops and chewable vitamins.
While there is no change in the acceptable daily intake, Dr. Francesco Branca, Director of the Department of Nutrition and Food Safety at WHO, says “We’re just advising for a bit of moderation.” Dr. Branca mentioned that one can of diet soda contains about 200 to 300 mg of aspartame. This indicates that an adult (average weight 70 kg) can consume 9 to 14 cans of soda safely.
WHO will remain vigilant in examining new evidence and promoting independent research teams to conduct additional investigations into the possible link between aspartame exposure and its impact on consumer health.
Also Read: Aspartame may cause health concerns if not regulated says the WHO