Artificial sweetner Aspartame could cause cancer: WHO

It’s official now. Several Indian NGOs have been arguing for long that the artificial sweetner widely used in various food and beverage products including diet drinks, ice cream and toothpaste cause caner.
Now, the World Health Organization (WHO) has officially classified artificial sweetener aspartame as a “possible carcinogen,” particularly when used in diet drinks, chewing gum, gelatin, ice cream, and dairy products.
The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) and the WHO and Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) released the assessment of aspartame’s health impacts.
Based on “limited evidence” of carcinogenicity in humans, the IARC classified aspartame as a possible carcinogen to humans, while JECFA reaffirmed the acceptable daily intake of 40 mg per kg body weight.
Dr. Francesco Branca, Director of the Department of Nutrition and Food Safety at WHO, emphasized the need to evaluate factors that may contribute to cancer, given its global impact.
Aspartame, an artificial sweetener introduced in the 1980s, is widely used in various food and beverage products, including diet drinks, chewing gum, gelatin, ice cream, yogurt, breakfast cereal, toothpaste, cough drops, and chewable vitamins.
Both the IARC and JECFA conducted independent reviews to assess the potential carcinogenic hazard and other health risks associated with aspartame consumption.