2023-07-14 11:43:15
Scientists have not found conclusive evidence that the consumption of aspartame, a sweetener widely used in the food industry, is a factor in the appearance of cancer in humans, so the World Health Organization (WHO) maintains its recommendation on the “acceptable” consumption level of this artificial sweetener.
This recommended aspartame level is 40 milligrams per kilogram of body weight, which in practical terms means that a 70-kilo adult should drink between 9 and 14 cans of soda – which usually contain between 200 and 300 milligrams of aspartame per unit. – to consider it a limit consumption.
This, as long as the person in question does not eat this sweetener in other foods on the same day, especially considering that it is sometimes marketed under other trade names and that it is present in thousands of industrial foods in nearly a hundred countries.
In the case of a child weighing about 20 kilos, the maximum recommended intake would be 800 milligrams or two to three cans, as explained at a press conference in which the results of separate studies carried out by scientific groups from the International Institute for Research on Cancer (IARC) and of the OMS together with UN Agency for Food and Agriculture (FAO).
The experts noted that while there are studies linking aspartame consumption to certain types of cancer and diabetes, the evidence is “limited” from various trials conducted.
For this reason, IARC has classified it as possibly carcinogenic, a classification it uses when there is scant and unconvincing evidence of cancer in humans.
“This should not really be taken as a direct statement that there is a known cancer risk from consuming aspartame (…) In our opinion, this is more of a call to the research community to try to clarify and better understand the carcinogenic danger than may or may not raise the consumption of aspartame”, clarified the IARC representative, Mary Schubauer-Berigan.
He Director of the WHO Department of Nutrition and Food Safety, Francesco Brancasaid that, at the doses commonly used, aspartame does not represent a risk, but at the same time acknowledged that there is research that points to its potential adverse effects and that further investigation will have to be carried out.
Branca recommended that consumers reflect on why they use aspartame, remembering that the OMS has recently clarified that no artificial sweetener contributes to weight loss, as is the general idea.
“If the consumer is faced with the decision to drink a drink with sugar or sweetener, I would tell them that there is a third option and that is to drink water. This is particularly important for young children who are in full taste adjustment,” she argued.
EFE/Justin Lane
He also clarified that these results do not constitute a recommendation to industry or governments to withdraw products from the market.
“What we are advising is that consumers limit their intake of sweeteners, we are recommending moderation,” added the WHO expert.
#maintains #recommended #consumption #sweetener #aspartame