As expected, a new study that we recently broke the news about, has sparked a great deal of controversy. This study, carried out by the team led by Sara Jones and Pradeep Bhide, from Florida State University in the United States, linked the consumption of aspartame, an artificial sweetener present in thousands of food products, in mice with qualifying anxiety behavior.
The study is titled “Transgenerational transmission of aspartame-induced anxiety and changes in glutamate-GABA signaling and gene expression in the amygdala”. And it was published in the academic journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
The International Sweeteners Association (ISA) has issued a statement in response to the publication of that study.
The ISA is an international non-profit scientific organization that represents, among others, suppliers of low- and no-calorie sweeteners. It was founded more than 35 years ago.
In its statement, the ISA emphasizes that this study was carried out in mice, not in humans, and that before aspartame was approved for commercialization for human consumption, it successfully passed all the safety tests required by the health authorities. relevant, national and international, including the WHO (World Health Organization) and FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations) Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA), the European Food Safety (EFSA) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of the United States.
The ISA also recalls that in 2013 the European Food Safety Authority carried out the most thorough risk assessment of aspartame of all those carried out. And based on all available scientific research results, including data on potential toxicity and genotoxicity, the agency ruled out any overlooked potential risks and confirmed that aspartame is safe for human consumption.
Graphic representation of aspartame molecule. (Image: NIH/Quick Submit)
The ISA further notes that a 2015 study funded by the UK Food Standards Agency (FSA) and conducted by a team that included scientists from that agency and from institutions such as Imperial College London and the University of Hull, examined whether aspartame could cause anxiety, among other possible unaccounted for adverse effects, and found no evidence of this. This study is titled “Aspartame Sensitivity? A Double Blind Randomized Crossover Study” And was published in the academic journal PLoS One. (Source: NCYT de Amazings)