Over 6,000 products, including Diet Coke and Fanta Zero as well as Wrigley’s sugar-free gum are made with Aspartame.
Yuka’s ingredient scanner app is leading the charge for an outright ban. But there are growing concerns about the health effects of this widely used sweetener.
Julie Chapon is the co-founder and CEO of Yuka. She says, “We are empowering users to take action to help ban this dangerous additive.”
What is Aspartame?
Aspartame, a low-calorie sweetener that is 200 times sweeter then sugar, is an artificial sweetener with fewer calories. The powder is white and odourless.
Aspartame can be added to a wide range of food and beverage products in Europe. This includes drinks, desserts and sweets, dairy, gums and other chewing products.
Aspartame is a substance that has been linked to health problems.
Aspartame is not a new substance to cause concern among consumers. Calls for aspartame to be banned began in the 1970s after research by the University of Sussex linked the consumption of the chemical with increased risk of liver, lung, and brain cancer, lesions, and neuroendocrine diseases.
Aspartame has been the subject of ongoing concerns about its potential cancer-causing effects. This led to the World Health Organization launching a full investigation into the sweetener in 2023. In a press release, the UN agency said that “limited evidence” had been found to back up these claims.
“IARC [International Agency for Research on Cancer] JECFA and IARC have classified aspartame in the category of possible carcinogens to humans. [Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives] The WHO reaffirmed that a daily dose of no more than 40mg/kg is acceptable.
They added, however, that further research is needed and the discussion was not over.
The findings that there is limited evidence for carcinogenicity, both in humans and in animals, as well as limited mechanisms of how it may happen, highlight the need to do more research on the subject.
Recent research by the Karolinska institute in Sweden has found that Aspartame causes an insulin surge which contributes to arterial buildup and inflammation. This could lead to potentially life-threatening cardiac issues.
A 2020 study by Australian scientists from The University of Queensland found that aspartame increased heart contractions, and also improved the calcium’s handling. The team did note that aspartame in high quantities could lead to an irregular heartbeat.
Aspartame is found in many different products, including sugar-free gum. ((Image: Getty/wundervisuals))
When will aspartame become banned?
Aspartame is still being defended by governing bodies despite calls for its ban. This reinforces the idea that aspartame is safe to consume.
When asked for comment, a European Commission official stated that “the safety of aspartame E951 was reevaluated in 2013 by the European Food Safety Authority, which concluded aspartame, and its breakdown products, are safe for general populations (including babies, children, and pregnant women).”
EFSA, however, is currently reevaluating two sweeteners – the salt of Aspartame-Acesulfame(E962) and neotame(E961).
Aspartame and acesulfame salt (E962) contains a combination of both sweeteners, aspartame(E951) as well as acesulfameK (E950). Neotame is an aspartame-derived chemical substance.
Food and Drink Federation of the UK (FDF), weighing in on the discussion, stated that the industry conforms to highest standards.
The Food Standards Agency is responsible for a high level of regulation in the food and beverage industry. The Food Standards Agency (FSA) conducts extensive evidence reviews on ingredients by independent scientific advisory panels to make sure food is safe. “The FSA is responsible for determining the safety of food additives including sweeteners. This includes the amounts that are allowed as well as the foods and beverages they can be found in.”
The FDF left the door wide open to future changes, stating that “The FSA believes aspartame is safe for consumption within its regulated requirements.” The industry will respond quickly if any new, robust evidence changes the FSA assessment.
However, the industry remains convinced that such a ban won’t be implemented.
Laurent Oger is the director-general of the International Sweeteners Association.
Aspartame has 200 times more sweetness than sugar. (EKramar/Image: Getty/EKramar)
What would a ban on aspartame mean for the food and beverage industries?
No exaggeration is needed to state that a ban of aspartame will be disastrous for the industry.
Costs of reformulating, re-labeling and labeling more than 6,000 products are enormous.
Nesta, an innovation agency spokesperson, says that reformulating products is a difficult and expensive process, especially for smaller businesses.
The time required to reformulate these products and to re-label them would be enormous and would likely take many weeks, even months, to finish.
It’s possible that, if an outright ban was to take place, there would still be a grace-period to give manufacturers time to adjust and prepare. The industry will likely ask governments to back the new policy.
Nesta says that “by offering grants to the public, governments could alleviate some financial burden.”
We’ll have to wait and see whether or not aspartame will be banned. As more consumer and organisational groups join the discussion, health authorities such as EFSA must do more to reassure the public about the effects of sweeteners.
