FDA Re-evaluating the Safety of Aspartame

Aspartame is the most widely known and used artificial sweetener in the United States. Trade names the product is sold under include Equal, NutraSweet, EqualMeasure and Spoonful. Individuals trying to improve their health status often choose artificial sweeteners, avoiding the detrimental effects of high amounts of sugar or high fructose corn syrup, but this may not be the best approach for health. According to a statement issued by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in May of 2006, the safety of aspartame is under review due to scientific information emerging from Europe.

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) recently issued its own press release on its review of the long-term carcinogenicity study of aspartame conducted by the European Ramazzini Foundation (ERF). According to the long-term feeding experiments conducted in rats, scientists concluded that aspartame causes cancer and that current uses and consumption of the sweetener should be re-evaluated. However, the EFSA were not in agreement with these findings after reviewing all of the evidence. The FDA is not yet ready to make a statement on aspartame's possible cancer causing effects and has requested the data from the ERF so that their scientists can conduct their own review.

The safety of aspartame has been questioned for years, and has been implicated in brain tumors, lymphoma, birth defects, fibromyalgia, diabetes, chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, and neurological disorders including multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, parkinson's disease, alzheimer's and mental retardation. Aspartame is responsible for more than 75% of the adverse reactions from food additives which are reported to the FDA, including cases where individuals have died. The Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB) states that aspartame should be avoided in vulnerable populations, including pregnant women, infants, and children.