It is IARC, the International Agency for Research on Cancer, WHO’s body for cancer research, which has gone through 1,300 studies on the sweetener aspartame and now comes up with an updated risk assessment.
According to information that has been leaked to the Reuters news agency will aspartame be classified as “possibly carcinogenic to humans” by the IARC.
Same class as aloe vera
– According to the rumor, aspartame can cause cancer class 2 b, which is the lowest class. Aloe vera is in that class, as are lactic acid vegetables. The IARC has looked at the danger of aspartame but just because there is a danger does not necessarily mean there is a risk. It is related to the dose, says Johan Ålander, toxicologist at the Swedish Food Agency.
According to the latest assessment from the WHO, a person weighing 60 kg can consume four liters of aspartame-sweetened soft drink per day during their lifetime without any risk to their health – an assessment that the Swedish Food Agency follows.
Physical substance
But the recommended daily intake may therefore change – if the new report comes to a different conclusion.
– In that case, EFSA, the EU’s food safety authority, will most likely be tasked with looking at the new data and making a new risk assessment, says Johan Ålander.
Aspartame has been used in Sweden since 1980 and is also found naturally in the body. According to Ålander, the new cancer classification is no reason to feel fear.
– Aspartame is generally a very well-studied product. If it had been dangerous, it should have been caught earlier, says Johan Ålander.
In the clip, the toxicologist tells more about aspartame and why it is linked to cancer.