The European Authority confirms the safety of sweetening Aspartame

2011/04/01 Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Dietetika/Elikagaiak
• Osasuna

The European Food Safety Authority, EFSA, has dismissed the existence of cancer and premature deliveries in aspartame, after analyzing the investigations that reached these conclusions.

For decades, aspartame has been recognized as a sweetener in Europe and other countries, and is widely used in many drinks and foods to replace sugar. However, some studies questioned their safety, relating the consumption of aspartame with cancer and premature delivery.

Therefore, the EFSA decided to study these investigations in depth. On the one hand, the Ramazzinni Foundation for Oncology and Environmental Sciences analyzed a study by Soffrit and his team with mice. The study found that the administration of aspartame by placenta to mice caused long-term cancer in the liver and lungs. However, the EFSA has analyzed the data and indicates that the interpretation performed by the researchers is not correct.

On the other hand, research has been conducted by Dr. Halldorsson of the Statens Serum Institute of Copenhagen. Halldorsson's team investigated 59,334 women who died prematurely and concluded that the intake of refreshing drinks with artificial sweeteners had to do with the advance of childbirth. However, in the opinion of EFSA, the cause-effect relationship was not demonstrated in the research, so more research should be done to confirm or cancel it.

Therefore, EFSA considers that the suspicions raised by both investigations are not sufficient to question the investigations already carried out and decide their analysis or enlargement. Specifically, in 1984 the EFSA authorized aspartame for human consumption and in 2002 it revised and ratified the decision.