EU Safety Group Releases Scientific Opinion on Aspartame Safety
The safety group has determined that at current levels, aspartame is safe to consume
The European Food Safety Authority released the results of a study assessing the safety of consuming aspartame on Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2013. The opinion, according to Food Safety News, has determined that the levels of aspartame most people currently consume are not dangerous. The ESFA’s Panel on Food Additives and Nutrient Sources Added to Foods released the scientific opinion.
The first full risk assessment ever done, the study determined that though aspartame consumption is a controversial subject, it needn’t be in most cases. The average daily consumption is acceptable. But what is “average” consumption? According to the study, average daily consumption of aspartame is 40/mg/kg bw/day in Europe, or 50 mg/kg in the US. The panel added that their results apply to the general population, however, not people who have a condition such as phenylketonuria, which requires a lower intake of artificial sweeteners.
The panel used both animal and human studies to determine whether or not aspartame poses a risk for inducing cancer, as many have worried about. The study, “ruled out the potential risk of aspartame causing damage to genes and inducing cancer, harming the brain or nervous system, or affecting behavior or cognitive function in children or adults,” according to Food Safety News.
To read the scientific opinion, visit: http://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/efsajournal/pub/3496.htm