The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) is assessing the potential carcinogenic effect of aspartame. .“Following this, the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) will update its risk assessment exercise on aspartame, including the reviewing of the acceptable daily intake and dietary exposure assessment for aspartame,” said the IARC in a Thursday statement. .“The result of the evaluations will be made available together, on 14 July 2023, and is confidential until the summary of the evaluations of IARC Monographs Volume 134 is published online, at 00:30 CEST, 14 July, by the Lancet Oncology, and simultaneous publication of the JECFA findings on the WHO website.”.The statement said all meeting participants signed a confidentiality agreement, which states they will be unable to share any information about the meeting or its results until the end of the embargo period. .Aspartame is a non-nutritive additive used since the 1980s as a table-top sweetener; in food items including low-calorie beverages such as diet pops, prepared food, and treats; and in medications. .The safety of aspartame was evaluated in 1981 by JECFA, and an acceptable daily intake was established at 40mg/kg body weight per day. .Given the availability of new research results, an advisory group for IARC Monographs recommended aspartame be evaluated with high priority during 2020 to 2024 for cancer hazard identification. Aspartame was recommended for evaluation by JECFA for risk assessment. .The two evaluations are complementary. A working group assessed the potential carcinogenic hazard of aspartame from June 6 to 13, and JECFA is conducting a risk assessment between June 27 and July 6, including a review of the acceptable daily intake and dietary exposure assessment. .The sequence of these evaluations and the close collaboration between the IARC Monographs team and the JECFA secretariat permitted a comprehensive assessment of the health effects of aspartame consumption based on the latest available evidence. .The aim of hazard identification is to identify an item which can harm people, whereas risk assessment is about looking at the likelihood of an item causing damage.
