UK Food Standards Agency Reconfirms it Has no Concerns About the Safety of Aspartame

Large scale quantified consumer research commissioned by Ajinomoto and conducted by ICM Research has shown that there is no significant level of consumer concern about low calorie sweeteners in general or aspartame in particular.

23/06/09 The United Kingdom's Food Standards Agency (FSA) has reconfirmed that it has no concerns about the safety of aspartame. Aspartame, like all low-calorie sweeteners, is approved for use in the European Union under the terms of the European Sweetener Directive. The news was welcomed by Ajinomoto, the world's leading supplier of aspartame to food and drink companies. In May 2006, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) stated:

"There is no need to further review the safety of aspartame."
It is, therefore, surprising that the Food Standards Agency has announced that it is starting work on a further study on aspartame. The agency has emphasised that it has no concerns about aspartame safety, and has stated that its new study is to address "consumer concerns" and "anecdotal reports".

Large scale quantified consumer research commissioned by Ajinomoto and conducted by ICM Research has shown that there is no significant level of consumer concern about low calorie sweeteners in general or aspartame in particular. When asked "Which ingredients are bad for you?", 53% mentioned fat, 39% mentioned sugar, and 29% mentioned salt. 3% said "sweeteners", and only 0.3% said aspartame.

Aspartame, which is made from two amino acids, is digested just like any other protein and its components are treated by the body in exactly the same way as the same components in foods like meat, fish, eggs, milk and fruit juice. It tastes like sugar and enables food and drink companies to provide many popular low-calorie and sugar-reduced products. Sales of products sweetened with aspartame have grown steadily since the ingredient was introduced in 1983.

The FSA has explained its actions by referring to "anecdotal reports that have linked a range of conditions to aspartame". These include rumours circulated on the internet by scaremongers and conspiracy-theorists, mostly from the United States. In August 2007, the New Zealand Food Safety Authority, faced with the same absurd allegations, stated:

"The claims being made - and widely reported in the media - are doing a great public disservice. The fact is, a large amount of very good science shows that aspartame is a very safe substance. Studies that purport to show otherwise have thus far been overwhelmingly rejected by leading food safety authorities as flawed."