Aspartame: Why sweetener may be labeled as potential carcinogen

• Aspartame is an artificial sweetener found in diet sodas, chewing gum, and other products.
• Officials at the World Health Organization are expected to classify aspartame as a potential carcinogen.
• Experts say, however, it is not certain how much of the sweetener people need to consume to increase their risk of cancer.

A common artificial sweetener that appears in everything from diet sodas to chewing gum could be declared a possible carcinogen in the next few days by one of the world’s leading health bodies.

According to a story by Reuters, the World Health Organization’s (WHO) International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) is expected to declare aspartame as “possibly carcinogenic to humans” for the first time.

Reuters said the IARC decision was made in June after a meeting of group experts and is intended to assess whether something is a potential hazard, based on published evidence. The decision doesn’t consider how much of a product someone can safely consume.

The WHO committee on additives, the JECFA (the Joint WHO and Food and Agriculture Organization’s Expert Committee on Food Additives), is also reviewing aspartame use this year. Its meeting began at the end of June and officials will announce their findings at the same time that the IARC makes public its decision on Friday, according to Reuters.

The debate over aspartame

The announcements set up a conflict with major food manufacturers who widely use aspartame, mostly as a sugar substitute.

Similar past IARC rulings have raised consumer concerns, led to lawsuits, and pressured manufacturers into scrambling for alternative ingredients.

Since 1981, WHO regulators have said aspartame is safe within accepted daily limits. An adult weighing 60 kg (132 pounds) would have to drink 12 to 36 cans of diet soda – depending on the amount of aspartame in the beverage – daily to be at risk, according to Reuters.

That opinion has been shared by other regulatory bodies, including those in the United States and Europe.

The IARC has four levels of classification: carcinogenic, probably carcinogenic, possibly carcinogenic, and not classifiable. Each level is based on strength of the evidence, not specifically how dangerous a substance is.

In the past, products from processed meat, to asbestos, to electromagnetic fields associated with cell phones have been, at one time or another, classified as possible carcinogens, depending on use.

Is artificial sweetener aspartame safe?

Aspartame has been extensively studied for years.

In 2022, a study in France among 100,000 adults concluded people consuming larger amounts of artificial sweeteners – including aspartame – had a slightly higher cancer risk.

An early 2000s study by the Ramazzini Institute in Italy reported some cancers in mice and rats were linked to aspartame.

However, the first study could not prove that aspartame caused the increased cancer risk and questions have been raised about the methodology of the second study.

Dr. Misagh Karimi, an oncologist in gastrointestinal cancers at City of Hope Orange County Lennar Foundation Cancer Center in California, told Medical News Today it’s important to understand when a product falls into one of the IARC’s four categories.

“While it can be confusing and distressing to hear of this news around aspartame, it is essential to understand that the IARC does not consider the scale of risk of these carcinogens and a Class 2B carcinogen does not equate to a definite or even possible cause of cancer,” Karimi said.

“To put it simply, a Class 2B classification, which aloe vera and nickel are included under as well, means there are a few suggestions and small evidence leading researchers to believe that aspartame could possibly cause cancer,” he added.

Finding balance in your diet

Melanie Murphy, a registered dietician nutritionist and an instructor in University of California Irvine’s Nursing Department, told Medical News Today that aspartame is found in more than 6,000 food products and is “leaned on” by scores of people for diabetes and weight management.

“There is balance in everything when it comes to food and health,” Murphy said. “The [Food and Drug Administration] has approved the consumption of aspartame at 50mg per kg of body weight [per day], which is quite high. For example, if you are 130 pounds, you could, according to the FDA, consume upward of 3,200 mg of aspartame a day, which is equivalent to over 15 cans of diet soda.”

Murphy said most people consume aspartame at much lower rates. Which still doesn’t address how much is too much.

“Based on the science, right now it’s unclear as to what a reasonable amount could safely be since the FDA’s approval is well above the average daily consumption,” she said.

Dr. Srini Hejeebu, an internal medicine specialist at the University of Toledo Medical Center in Ohio, told Medical News Today it would be difficult for people to transition to other forms of supplements.

“Three-quarters of all diet sodas, sugar-free foods and sugar-free candies have some form of aspartame in them,” Hejeebu said. “The biggest problem with these artificial sweeteners is that when people think what they’re eating or drinking is ‘diet,’ they consume more than they should. Although the studies are not conclusive, consumption of diet sodas has been linked to worsening diabetes and obesity.”

“A lot of the time we do not even realize there is an artificial sweetener in the product we’re buying,” Hejeebu added. “There are other sweeteners that are naturally derived, such as stevia, xylitol, and monk fruit extract. These may be a little bit better, but we cannot say for sure because we will need to do future studies.”

What foods contain aspartame

Matthew Landry, PhD, an assistant professor of population health and disease prevention at the University of California Irvine, told Medical News Today aspartame isn’t just in diet soda.

“We can also find it in chewing gum, frozen desserts, yogurt, dessert mixes. It’s sometimes even used in vitamins, supplements, and cough drops,” Landry said.

That doesn’t mean you can’t find alternatives, he added.

“First is knowing what to look for in the grocery store. Aspartame is going to most likely appear in processed foods. If you see either the word ‘aspartame’ or ‘phenylalanine’ then the product contains aspartame,” Landry said.

He noted that anything labeled “diet” or “sugar-free” likely contains aspartame.

“When in doubt, choose foods that are unprocessed – whole fruits and vegetables have no artificial sweeteners or aspartame and have a host of other health benefits like fiber,” Landry said. “When you do need to sweeten up a beverage or food, consider honey or maple syrup.”

Dr. Jessica Jones, an oncologist with UTHealth Houston and Memorial Hermann, told Medical News Today that the connection between aspartame and cancer remains unclear. Though she offered some advice for those who want to make sure their beverage isn’t increasing their chance of getting cancer.

“Consider ditching soda entirely and moving to water or tea,” she said.

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