‘Diet soda sweetener may be cancer causing agent’
image for illustrative purpose
New Delhi Aspartame, one of the most commonly used artificial sweeteners in foods and beverages, is soon likely to be declared as a cancer causing agent by the World Health Organization's (WHO) cancer research arm, according to a media report. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) is expected to list aspartame, used in products from Coca-Cola diet sodas to Mars' Extra chewing gum, in July as "possibly carcinogenic to humans", as per a media report.
The ruling, reportedly finalised earlier this month, is based on all the published evidence against aspartame and also includes recommendations from the WHO’s expert committee on food additives, known as JECFA (Joint WHO and Food and Agriculture Organization's Expert Committee on Food Additives), as well as from national regulators.
The IARC said it had assessed 1,300 studies in its June review. The findings are kept confidential until July, an IARC spokesperson was quoted as saying. However, the findings are "the first fundamental step to understand carcinogenicity", the spokesperson added.
