JECFA

• “JECFA has once again reaffirmed aspartame’s safety after conducting a thorough, comprehensive and scientifically rigorous review,” said ISA Secretary General Frances Hunt-Wood.
• “Aspartame, like all low/no calorie sweeteners, when used as part of a balanced diet, provides consumers with choice to reduce sugar intake, a critical public health objective.”
  As part of its comprehensive assessment, reconfirming the safety of aspartame, JECFA examined IARC’s conclusions and found no concern for human health.
• To put this in context, IARC’s 2B classification puts aspartame in the same category as kimchi and other pickled vegetables.
• As part of an overall healthy diet and lifestyle, aspartame can be used to further public health objectives on sugar intake reduction and ultimately assist in weight and diabetes management , as well as with dental health .

• WASHINGTON, July 13, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- "There is only one WHO review that addresses the safety of foods and beverages.
• It is the JECFA review, which reaffirmed aspartame's safety, and is consistent with the FDA's long-standing position.
• The American people can be confident that the products they consume are safe because of FDA reviews.
• The Coalition for Safe Food & Beverage Choices represents organizations from agriculture, business, consumer, labor, multicultural advocacy, and public health groups who believe Americans should know who to trust when making safe choices about their family's diets.

• Aspartame is about 200 times sweeter than sugar and is one of the most commonly used artificial sweeteners.
• It’s used particularly in “low calorie” or “diet” foods and beverages, but is contained in a wide variety of products including drinks, ice creams, chewing gums, confectionery, sauces and snacks.
• While reports like these can understandably be worrying, there’s no reason to panic at this stage.

What does ‘possibly carcinogenic’ actually mean?

• This is important as new evidence can emerge, especially with the development of different methods to assess the health effects of additives.
• This year, aspartame has been reevaluated by two WHO agencies: the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) and the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA).
• In its reports (called monographs), it reviews all available evidence and classifies hazards into one of four categories:
• It shares this category with aloe vera leaves, electromagnetic radiation, the heart drug digoxin and engine exhaust fumes, among many other things.
• For all of these hazards, there is some limited data that suggests they might cause cancer – but nothing convincing.
• These categories can be confusing, because they refer only to the strength of the evidence that something can cause cancer, not the degree of risk.

The evidence so far

• This review didn’t find any new evidence that aspartame causes cancer and confirmed previous reviews by other regulators.
• One compound that was of particular interest was methanol, which is formed in the gut when aspartame is broken down and converted into formaldehyde by the human body.
• However, the amount that can form after the consumption of aspartame is much lower than what the body produces naturally.