EFSA Launches Public Consult on Aspartame Assessment

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has launched a public consultation on its “first full risk assessment” of the artificial sweetener aspartame. According to a January 8, 2013, news release, EFSA’s Scientific Panel on Food Additive and Nutrient Sources Added to Food (ANS Panel) has issued a draft scientific opinion on the safety of aspartame that entailed “an in-depth review of peer-reviewed scientific and other literature on aspartame and its breakdown products, including new human studies.” Based on this information, the ANS Panel has concluded that aspartame and its breakdown products “pose no toxicity concern for consumers at current levels of exposure. The current Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI) is considered to be safe for the general population and consumer exposure to aspartame is below this ADI.”

“The ANS Panel’s draft opinion has benefitted from the latest scientific thinking and methodological approaches,” concludes EFSA, which has requested comments on the draft opinion by February 15, 2013. “This comprehensive review was made possible following two public calls for data which made available a large body of scientific information, comprising both published and previously unpublished data and studies… This information has been critically evaluated and interpreted by EFSA’s experts to underpin the key discussion points addressed in the draft opinion.”