The European Food Safety Authority, EFSA, has reviewed the latest scientific studies in its ongoing vigilance of the controversial artificial sweetener known as aspartame, and has deemed that it is still safe for human consumption.
This contradicts two recent studies which reported that aspartame could cause cancer and premature births. At the request of the European Commission, EFSA undertook a review of the two studies and concluded that the results did not provide sufficient scientific evidence.
“Overall, EFSA concludes that the information available from the Soffritti et al. (2010) and Halldorsson et al. (2010) publications do not give reason to reconsider the previous evaluations of aspartame or of the other food additive sweeteners authorized in the European Union,” states the report.
EFSA will continue to monitor scientific literature in order to identify new evidence on sweeteners that may indicate a possible risk for human health or which might otherwise affect the safety assessment of these food additives.