The most widely used artificial sweetener in products worldwide will be declared a potential cancer risk by the cancer research arm of the World Health Organization (WHO) in July, according to reports. 

Aspartame is found in about 6,000 products globally, including carbonated soft drinks, powdered soft drinks, chewing gum, confections, gelatins, dessert mixes, puddings and fillings, frozen desserts, yogurt, tabletop sweeteners, and some pharmaceuticals such as vitamins and sugar-free cough drops, just to name a few, according to the Calorie Control Council. 

The Guardian reports the WHO’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), has conducted a safety review of aspartame and will publish a report next month.

The IARC will label aspartame as “possibly carcinogenic to humans,” Reuters reported in an exclusive story Thursday. 

According to the outlet, the IARC ruling is intended to assess whether something is a potential hazard or not, based on all the published evidence. It does not take into account how much of a product a person can safely consume. 

However, similar IARC rulings in the past for different substances have raised concerns among consumers about their use, led to lawsuits, and pressured manufacturers to recreate recipes and swap to alternatives. That has led to criticism that the IARC’s assessments can be confusing to the public, Reuters reported.

Adding to the confusion, the IARC has two other classifications it uses to signify potential risks — “probably carcinogenic to humans” and “carcinogenic to humans,” according to The Guardian. 

The IARC has previously listed working overnight and consuming red meat in its “probably cancer-causing class” and also put using mobile phones as possibly “cancer-causing,” according to the outlet. 

The food industry responded to the reports of the IARC’s findings on Thursday. 

Brussels-based International Sweeteners Association (ISA) told Just Food it had “serious concerns with preliminary speculation about the IARC opinion.”

“Aspartame is one of the most thoroughly researched ingredients in history, with over 90 food safety agencies across the globe declaring it is safe, including the European Food Safety Authority, which conducted the most comprehensive safety evaluation of aspartame to date,” ISA Secretary-General Frances Hunt-Wood said. 

The International Council of Beverages Associations Executive Director Kate Loadman blasted the designation, saying, “While it appears IARC is now prepared to concede that aspartame presents no more of a hazard to consumers than using aloe vera, public health authorities should be deeply concerned that this leaked opinion contradicts decades of high-quality scientific evidence and could needlessly mislead consumers into consuming more sugar rather than choosing safe no- and low sugar options – all on the basis of low-quality studies.” 

Despite the food industry’s defense of aspartame, various claims of health problems like headaches, vision changes, and other neurotoxic effects have been attributed to the chemical. 

READ  Just Say No: Artificial Sweeteners Bad for the Brain, Can Make You Fat

Aspartame is rarely used in baking or cooking because it breaks down when heated. And people with phenylketonuria, a rare metabolic disorder detected at birth, have been warned not to use aspartame at all.

Brand names for aspartame include NutraSweet and Equal. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration asserts that more than 100 studies confirm the controversial chemical is safe for the general population. 

Since the last approval in 1996, the FDA has continued monitoring the scientific literature for new information on aspartame, according to its website. 

A research paper published in 2021 in the peer-reviewed journal Nutrients noted in its abstract at the beginning of the paper that “Further research should be conducted to ensure clear information about the impact of aspartame on health.”

And a 2017 study out of Boston University revealed people who drink diet soda have three times the risk of developing dementia and having a stroke, and that’s people who drink just one a day.

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