World’s popular artificial sweetener may increase the risk of cancer: WHO

One of the most popular artificial sweeteners in the world, Aspartame, has drawn renewed attention in the US after a recent study suggested that it may increase the chance of developing cancer, as per a report in Washington Post. This comes after the World Health Organisation (WHO) issued a warning against the use of artificial sweeteners more than a month ago. 

In fact, according to Reuters, the popular sugar replacement will likely be classified as a potential carcinogen by the WHO's cancer research division next month. Reuters report is based on two informed persons who are familiar with the process. 

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved aspartame for human ingestion in 1981, according to a Washington Post report, but has subsequently reviewed five safety reviews. India is among the more than 90 nations that have approved its use.

Aspartame is around 200 times sweeter than table sugar and contains no calories. According to the food product it is being used in, India's food safety and regulation organisation FSSAI has advised maximum allowable quantities of the artificial sweetener in a paper from 2009.

Aspartame is used in around 90% of ready-to-drink teas and about 95% of carbonated soft drinks with added sugar, which accounts for a sizable portion of the beverage market.

Additionally, the FSSAI has ruled that items containing aspartame must prominently display the sweetener's name.

"There is a broad consensus in the scientific and regulatory community that aspartame is safe. It's a conclusion reached time and time again by food safety agencies around the world," Kevin Keane, the beverage association's chief executive, told Washington Post.

According to a study conducted in France last year, those who used more artificial sweeteners—particularly aspartame and acesulfame-K—had a marginally greater chance of developing cancer. It was based on an analysis of the medical history of 100,000 adults.

Aspartame will reportedly be designated as "possibly carcinogenic to humans" at a meeting of the WHO's International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) in July, according to Reuters.

New guidelines from the WHO were published in May and advised against using so-called NSS, or non-sugar sweeteners. According to the UN health agency, a systematic evaluation of the existing evidence "suggests that use of NSS does not confer any long-term benefit in reducing body fat in adults or children."

Additionally, the review's findings "suggest that there may be potential undesirable effects from long-term use of NSS, such as an increased risk of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and mortality in adults".