Artificial sweetener: WHO panel says no need to cut daily intake

Subject: Science and technology

Section : Health

Context:

A World Health Organization’s (WHO) committee categorised artificial sweetener aspartame as “possibly carcinogenic to humans”.

WHO findings:

The analysis by WHO’s International Agency for Research on Cancer found the product to be “possibly carcinogenic to humans” — a categorisation generally used for things when there is either limited, but not convincing, evidence for cancer in humans or convincing evidence for cancer in experimental animals, but not both.
- It is the third-highest level out of the four levels in which the IARC categorises carcinogens.
- The committee also said there was “limited evidence” from mechanistic studies that show that aspartame characteristics are similar to cancer-causing agents such as inducing oxidative stress, chronic inflammation and alterations to cell death mechanisms.
The second assessment by WHO and Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) said “there was no convincing evidence from experimental animal or human data that aspartame has adverse effects after ingestion”.
- The committee said there was no reason to change the established acceptable daily intake (ADI) of 0–40 mg/kg body weight.

Aspartame (Artificial sweetener):

Aspartame is widely used as a sugar substitute in various food and beverage products, including diet soft drinks, chewing gum, ice creams and breakfast cereals.
These sweeteners are chemically synthesized and provide a sweet taste without the high-calorie content of regular sugar.
The current acceptable daily intake (ADI) of 0-40 mg/kg body weight is pretty high.
Other examples of artificial sweeteners are: Sucralose, Saccharin, Stevia, Neotame and Erythritol.

What is Erythritol?

Erythritol is a popular artificial sweetener that is widely available throughout the world.
It is an organic compound – a naturally occurring, four-carbon sugar alcohol (or polyol).
It is used as a food additive and sugar substitute.
Erythritol is 60–70% as sweet as sucrose (table sugar).
However, it is almost completely noncaloric and does not affect blood sugar or cause tooth decay.
Synthesis: It is synthesized from corn using enzymes and fermentation.