Tuesday, May 09, 2006
Aspartame is safe, EFSA says
Rome - European food safety experts announced Friday that the popular sugar substitute aspartame does not raise the risk of cancer.
An Italian study last year wrongly concluded that the sweetener led to higher rates of lymphoma and leukaemia in rats, said an independent panel of scientists advising the European Food Safety Authority (Efsa).
The new review found that the number of tumours did not increase in relation to the dosage of aspartame fed to the animals. Many of the rats in the study had suffered from chronic respiratory disease and that was the most likely cause of the tumours, the panel said.
The findings support a huge U.S. federal study released last month, which found no link to cancer in a study of aspartame use among more than half a million Americans. The European panel said its assessment should put the lid on years of debate over the sweetener found in thousands of products, including diet sodas, chewing gum, dairy products and even many medicines.
The food safety scientists were also satisfied with the current European level set for the safe daily consumption of aspartame -- a maximum of 40 milligrams per kilogram of body weight -- saying that the limit is well above what people consume normally.
The Italian researchers who conducted the rat study insisted that their initial findings were correct and pledged to continue studying the subject. Dr. Morando Soffritti, who led the study for the Bologna-based European Ramazzini Foundation, also assailed the U.S. study, saying that it was an example of how "some researchers are ready to put themselves at the disposal of the industry" that produces sweeteners. He contended the U.S. research didn't distinguish between aspartame and other sweetener use and did not measure lifetime sweetener use.
An Italian study last year wrongly concluded that the sweetener led to higher rates of lymphoma and leukaemia in rats, said an independent panel of scientists advising the European Food Safety Authority (Efsa).
The new review found that the number of tumours did not increase in relation to the dosage of aspartame fed to the animals. Many of the rats in the study had suffered from chronic respiratory disease and that was the most likely cause of the tumours, the panel said.
The findings support a huge U.S. federal study released last month, which found no link to cancer in a study of aspartame use among more than half a million Americans. The European panel said its assessment should put the lid on years of debate over the sweetener found in thousands of products, including diet sodas, chewing gum, dairy products and even many medicines.
The food safety scientists were also satisfied with the current European level set for the safe daily consumption of aspartame -- a maximum of 40 milligrams per kilogram of body weight -- saying that the limit is well above what people consume normally.
The Italian researchers who conducted the rat study insisted that their initial findings were correct and pledged to continue studying the subject. Dr. Morando Soffritti, who led the study for the Bologna-based European Ramazzini Foundation, also assailed the U.S. study, saying that it was an example of how "some researchers are ready to put themselves at the disposal of the industry" that produces sweeteners. He contended the U.S. research didn't distinguish between aspartame and other sweetener use and did not measure lifetime sweetener use.
# posted by Buck @ 5:47 AM 
