The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) is to review the safety of aspartame after a request from The European Commission – despite recent scientific assessments failing to reveal fresh concerns about the sweetener.
EFSA reviewed the latest studies on aspartame only last month and was due to look again at the sweetener’s safety in 2020.
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However, following concerns in political and lobby circles, the Commission has asked EFSA to re-evaluate aspartame immediately.
A spokesman for the European Commission said its request followed “concerns raised by some representatives of the European Parliament as well as the European Consumers Organisation BEUC”.
Last month, the European Parliament called for mandatory warning labels for pregnant women on all products containing aspartame.
EFSA said its latest review had not thrown up new evidence to question the sweetener’s safety.
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By GlobalData“When we evaluated scientific studies on aspartame recently, we didn’t see anything glaring that would lead us to believe people should change their daily intake,” said an EFSA spokesperson.
She said the latest EFSA-reviewed studies assessed links between aspartame, cancer and pre-term births. The results, she said, did not flag up problems justifying an urgent comprehensive safety review.
“The re-evaluation is not originating from a scientific point of view, in light of this,” the spokesperson insisted.
However, the European Commission was within its rights to ask for an early study of aspartame and has to look at various issues when considering the safety of food substances, the EFSA spokesperson added. “Safety can’t be defined in one way. So we will carry this review out.”
