Saudi Gazette report
RIYADH — The Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA) has confirmed that there are no any concerns about aspartame artificial sweetener.
SFDA’s confirmation came after the widespread controversy among people around the world about the artificial sweetener aspartame.
The row erupted in the past weeks after the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) issued a report classifying aspartame as “possibly carcinogenic to humans” within (IARC Group 2B), which is considered a possibility and not conclusive evidence.
SFDA clarified that the classification (2B) of the IARC means that there is insufficient scientific evidence for the product that was classified in this category to cause cancer in humans and experimental animals.
The authority has indicated that the joint Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) expert committee on food additives (JECFA) has confirmed in its Final Summary of Findings Aspartame report that (No reason to change the previously established acceptable daily intake (ADI) of 0–40 mg/kg body weight for aspartame).
The report stressed that aspartame is safe to use within these limits. It is worth mentioning that exceeding these limits is equivalent to consuming 9 to 14 cans of soft drink containing 200 or 300 mg of aspartame per day for an adult weighing 70 kg.
SFDA confirmed that it had conducted many scientific assessments on the safety of aspartame over the past years, which included reviewing all scientific assessments from international organizations and international agencies concerned with food safety control and sharing information and research with them.
SFDA’s scientific assessments have proved that there are no concerns related with the aspartame.
The authority pointed out that the aspartame sweetener has been used for over 40 years, and it is contained in more than 6,000 products all over the world, and there is no scientific evidence to prove the danger of consuming aspartame according to the limits recommended not to be exceeded.
For more evidence, SFDA indicated that the IARC classifies products that cause cancer in 4 groups, as products in (Group A) are considered carcinogenic to humans and there is scientific evidence to prove this, while (Group 2A) indicates a high potential for carcinogens with insufficient scientific evidence to cause cancer in humans, but there is sufficient scientific evidence to prove that it causes cancer in experimental animals.
As for the B2 classification, in which Aspartame is classified, it indicates that it has a low potential for causing cancer, along with the lack of sufficient scientific evidence of causing cancer for both humans and experimental animals.
Group (3) of the IARC means that the product does not cause cancer because there is no scientific evidence to prove this to humans and experimental animals.
The Saudi Food and Drug Authority has stressed its keenness on the safety of all products under its supervision, as it continuously re-evaluates it, in addition to monitoring everything related to the safety of food products globally through its Rapid Alert Center.