Artificial sweetener aspartame declared possible carcinogen. What are the risks?
Global News
The WHO has classified aspartame which is found in diet soda as ‘possibly carcinogenic to humans,’ but experts are not 'excessively worried' about cancer risks.
Aspartame, a popular artificial sweetener commonly used in sugar-free soft drinks, desserts and chewing gum may pose a risk of cancer, the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned, but experts who spoke to Global News are not “excessively worried.”
Researchers from WHO’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) assessed the hazard of aspartame and classified it as “possibly carcinogenic to humans,” while noting there was limited evidence for a type of liver cancer and is calling for more research on potential health harms of consumption.
Their findings were released in The Lancet Oncology journal Thursday.
“This shouldn’t really be taken as a direct statement that indicates that there is a known cancer hazard from consuming aspartame,” said Mary Schubauer-Berigan, acting head of the IARC Monographs programme.
“This is really more a call to the research community to try to better clarify and understand the carcinogenic hazard that may or may not be posed by aspartame consumption,” she said during a virtual news conference earlier this week.
Aspartame has fewer calories than sugar and it is one of the most common artificial sweeteners found in diet sodas, like Coke Zero.
By placing it in the Group 2B category, aspartame joins 322 other agents that have been classified as “possibly carcinogenic,” according to the IARC.
Aloe Vera, diesel fuel, gasoline and pickled vegetables also fall in that same category.
The Russian strike on Ukraine on Thursday came in response to Ukrainian strikes on the Russian territory with U.S. and British missiles earlier this week, Putin said.
Benjamin Netanyahu, his former defense minister and Hamas officials, are accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity over the conflict in Gaza and the October 2023 attacks.
This year, the toy drive will support nearly 200 Ukrainian children in the Central Okanagan.
The choice of Trump's former acting attorney general Matt Whitaker is an unusual one, given his background in law enforcement and not in foreign policy or diplomacy.
Israel has continued to pound Hezbollah throughout the cease-fire attempts, and rockets have continued to rain down on northern Israel.
The precautionary step came after Russian officials promised a response to President Joe Biden’s decision to let Ukraine strike targets on Russian soil with U.S.-made missiles.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken recognized González in a post on X in which he also demanded “respect for the will” of Venezuelan voters.
Officials were worried the hamsters would target the plane's electrical wiring system.
Marius Borg Høiby is facing yet another charge after a slew of accusations in recent months.
Uranium enriched at 60 per cent purity is just a short, technical step away from weapons-grade levels of 90 per cent, according to the UN report.
The alleged developments marked a worrying new escalation in the conflict that has repeatedly ratcheted up international tensions.