EFSA Re-Confirms Aspartame Safety

The opinions were prepared in response to a request from the European Commission to EFSA's Panel on Food Additives and Nutrient Sources (ANS), following claims made by the European Ramazzini Foundation (ERF), based in Italy.

21/04/09 Two opinions published by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) have once again re-confirmed the safety of the low calorie sweetener aspartame.

The opinions were prepared in response to a request from the European Commission to EFSA's Panel on Food Additives and Nutrient Sources (ANS), following claims made by the European Ramazzini Foundation (ERF), based in Italy.

The ANS Panel at EFSA concluded: "Overall, on the basis of all the evidence currently available, including the last published ERF study, there is no indication of any genotoxic or carcinogenic potential of aspartame and there is no reason to revise the previously established ADI (acceptable daily intake) for aspartame of 40 mg per kg of body weight per day."

The acceptable daily intake is an amount that has been shown to be safe. In the case of aspartame, the ADI is, for a normal-weight person, the equivalent of about half a kilo of sugar every day.

These opinions confirm EFSA's previous assessment of aspartame in May 2006, which was issued in response to earlier claims by the ERF. Aspartame is one of the most thoroughly tested ingredients in our food supply and has been approved by experts of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation and the World Health Organisation, by the United States Food and Drug Administration, and by the regulatory authorities of more than 100 countries.

Aspartame leader Ajinomoto notes that the high intensity sweetener is made from two amino acids, the building blocks of protein that are found in a variety of everyday foods such a meat, fish, cheese, eggs and milk. Aspartame is digested naturally by the body to very small amounts of common dietary components.

By providing an excellent sweet taste without the calories of sugar, aspartame makes a useful contribution to a healthy, calorie-controlled diet and can help people to avoid overweight and obesity and their associated diseases.