Brazil’s National Cancer Institute (INCA) has issued a warning against the consumption of aspartame, after the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the artificial sweetener as “possibly carcinogenic to humans.”
The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) and the Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) of the WHO and the UN’s Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) released an assessment of aspartame’s health impacts last week. The findings of their “separate but complementary reviews” concluded that there is limited evidence of the additive causing cancer in humans. The JECFA re-affirmed the acceptable daily intake limit for aspartame of 40 mg/kg of body weight.
WHO scientists stressed that the findings indicate the need for more and better independent research on aspartame, which has been widely used as an artificial sweetener in food and beverages since the 1980s. It is typically found in foods labeled as low-calorie and sugar-free drinks such as Diet Coke, and can also be present in products such as sugar-free gum, toothpaste, and medications such as cough drops.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said it disagreed with the IARC classification and noted that “FDA scientists do not have safety concerns when aspartame is used under the approved conditions.”
Brazilian cancer experts, however, adopted a different position. In a statement released by the INCA on July 14, right after the publication of IARC’s classification, the Brazilian cancer authority — which is linked to the federal Health Ministry — said it “recommends that the general population avoid consuming any type of artificial sweetener and adopt a healthy diet, that is to say, based on ingredients that are in natura or minimally processed foods, and limited in ultra processed foods.”
The INCA cited the findings of IARC — a WHO body on the board of which the Brazilian cancer authority has a seat — as well as scientific evidence pointing to the fact that artificially sweetened soft drinks don’t help control obesity and the direct link between excessive body weight and at least 15 types of cancer.
According to the World Obesity Atlas 2023, produced by the nonprofit World Obesity Federation, 41 percent of Brazil’s adult population will be obese by 2035, up from 22.1 percent now — an increase of 2.8 percent per year. Child obesity is growing even faster in the country, at a rate of 4.4 percent per year.
Over 10 percent of Brazilian children aged under five are currently overweight, according to the FAO’s latest hunger report, released last week.
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