The BBC revealed that the International Agency for Research in Cancer Diseases will announce the classification of the sweetened “aspartame”, on the 14th of this month, which is found in various foods and soft drinks, as a possible cause of human cancer.
What does “aspartame” contain?
Aspartame is 200 times sweeter than sugar. It gives the taste of sugar without the calories, has been in use for decades and has been approved by food safety authorities, but it has always sparked controversy. reports Al-Rai daily.
The International Agency for Research into Cancer, the research arm of the World Health Organization, reviewed nearly 1,300 studies on aspartame and cancer.
Reuters spoke to sources close to the research review process, and reported that “aspartame” would be classified as “possibly carcinogenic” – but what does this designation mean?
According to BBC information, the classification will be officially announced by the international agency and an independent expert committee specialized in food additives – in addition to publishing it in the Lancet Oncology medical journal, on July 14.
Kevin McConway, a professor of statistics at the Open University in Britain, says that the agency’s classification “doesn’t tell us anything about the current level of danger caused by aspartame, because that is not what the agency’s classifications mean.”
The “likely” rating is used when evidence about people or data from animal testing is “limited”.
IARC classifications have caused confusion in the past, and have been criticized for issuing unnecessary warning. When processed red meat was classified as a carcinogen, this led to reports equating its consumption with smoking.
The executive director of the International Council of Beverage Societies, Kate Lottman, said health authorities should be “very concerned” about the “leaked opinions”. It warned that this “may unnecessarily mislead consumers into consuming more sugar instead of adopting safe, sugar-free and low-sugar options.”
The International Agency for Research on Cancer uses four possible classifications:
— The first group: carcinogenic to humans.
— Group II A: Possibly carcinogenic to humans.
Group B: Possibly carcinogenic to humans.
Group 3: Not classified.
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