The World Health Organization’s cancer agency has deemed the sweetener aspartame — found in diet soda and countless other foods — as a “possible” cause of cancer, while a separate expert group looking at the same evidence said it still considers the sugar substitute safe in limited quantities. The Lyon, France-based cancer agency periodically reviews potential cancer hazards, but doesn’t determine how likely they are to cause cancer in their evaluations which range from “possibly” carcinogenic to “probably” to cancer-causing. WHO’s cancer agency, IARC, convened its expert group in June to assess the potential of aspartame to cause cancer. In a separate evaluation, experts assembled by WHO and the food agency updated their risk assessment, including reviewing the acceptable daily intake. “There is a broad consensus in the scientific and regulatory community that aspartame is safe,“ the American Beverage Association said in a statement.

Source: The Star July 13, 2023 22:41 UTC