Panel of European Experts Reaffirm Aspartame Safety

After a comprehensive literature review and a series of meetings with experts from EU member countries, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA; May 2010) has confirmed previous findings that the sweetener aspartame is safe to use.

The experts convened by the EFSA identified no new evidence to recommend changes to previous opinions established by the EFSA’s Scientific Committee on Food. This latest review of aspartame’s safety was designed to address lingering public concerns about its wide use in drinks, desserts, sweets, dairy, chewing gum, weight control products, and as a table-top sweetener.

Scientific data and anecdotal evidence reviewed

The areas under review included exposure data, on brain function, satiation and appetite, allergenicity and immunotoxicity, metabolic aspects and diabetes, carcinogenicity (including cancer epidemiology) and genotoxicity. In addition to the peer-reviewed literature, the experts analyzed a database of anecdotal case histories in which individuals attributed various symptoms and illnesses to aspartame consumption, including headaches, seizures, memory loss, vision/eye conditions, allergies and gastro-intestinal symptoms.

Review confirms previous scientific findings on aspartame safety

Following review of scientific evidence available since the 2002 EFSA Scientific Committee’s conclusions, the new report states:

  • There is no new evidence that requires a revision of the existing opinions indicating a lack of genotoxic/mutagenic potential of aspartame.
  • There is little or no substantive data suggesting that aspartame affects appetite/hunger, food intake.
  • It is unlikely that aspartame is associated with allergic-type reactions. Several clinical studies have shown that when allergic-type reactions were evaluated under controlled conditions aspartame is no more likely to cause reactions than placebo.

For more information on aspartame from EFSA, see
http://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/anstopics/topic/aspartame.htm?wtrl=01

The complete May 2010 EFSA report can be found at: http://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/scdocs/doc/af100423.pdf