Aspartame: A Possible Source Of Carcinogen -By Badrudeen Nabeelat

Aspartame is an artificial sweetener that has almost zero calorific value, no bitter aftertaste like saccharine and it is about 200 times sweeter than regular table sugar. It was discovered in 1965 by American chemist James Schlatter. Aspartame alongside other artificial sweeteners such as Saccharin, sucralose, and neotame was authorized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 1974 for use as a tabletop sweetener and an additive in chewing gum, breakfast cereals, and dry bases for food.

However, Aspartame which has been reviewed and said to be safe for consumption is set to be proclaimed reportedly this month as a possible carcinogen by a leading health organization; this claim putting itself against the food industry especially prominent companies like Coca Cola. However, as reported, due to the use of aspartame in the production of coca cola product, chewing gum and other sugar product; they will be listed by the International Agency for Research on cancer (IARC), a research arm of The World Health Organization as a source of carcinogens, although the degree of consumption of such product to warrant cancers is yet to be affirmed. Based on the research conducted by International Agency for Research cancer, certain procedure were followed to determine the possibility of carcinogene in aspartame which are: Carcinogenic, probably carcinogenic, possibly carcinogenic and not classifiable.

The procedure followed as mentioned above were explained by the IARC; Carcinogenic means when there is sufficient evidence of carcinogenicity in human; Probably carcinogenic is used to describe an inadequate evidence regarding carcinogenicity in human or an experimental animal; Possibly carcinogenic which aspartame falls under this category of this research is when there is little or no information about the effect of carcinogens in human but sufficient evidence of carcinogenicity in experimental animals; The last one which is listed as Not classifiable means when the evidence of carcinogenicity in human is inadequate and that of experimental animals are limited as well.

Also, The Joint FAO/WHO expert committee on food additives who supported that aspartame is safe to consume within accepted daily limit since the year 1981. But now in 2023, they are also reviewing the use of aspartame on food additives. Its meeting began at the end of June and it is due to announce its findings on the same day as IARC which is on the 14th of July 2023. Their research entails risk assesment which determines the probability of a specific types of harm to occur under certain conditions of consuming products that has aspartame in them and their levels of exposure.

In conclusion, research has shown that aspartame which is one of the major ingredients in every product consumed daily is possibly a source of carcinogen. Some big companies like Coca cola has refute the claim as research is yet to show how much consumption of these products are injurious. Most of these products are being consumed in large quantities without restriction and if there is no valid consclusion on such research, it is advisible to limit the consumption of any products that contain aspartame.