Contrary to the position of World Health Organisation (WHO) and some cancer experts that artificial sweetener, aspartame, could cause cancer, National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), yesterday, said: “Aspartame is safe to consume in food products within established limit of 40mg/kg body weight.”

Besides soft drinks and beverages, Director General of NAFDAC, Prof. Mojisola Christianah Adeyeye, told The Guardian that some of the food products in Nigeria that contain aspartame are fruit nectars, flavoured fluid milk drinks, flavoured drinks, chewing gums and fruit jams.

Adeyeye said, currently, there are no health implications associated with the consumption of food containing aspartame, stressing that the current acceptable daily intake (ADI) of 40 mg/kg body weight/day is safe for the general population.

The NAFDAC DG said, although aspartame can be safely consumed by most healthy individuals, it has long been recognised that excessive intake of phenylalanine, one of the constituent amino acids of aspartame, can pose a hazard to individuals suffering from an inherited metabolic disorder called phenylketonuria. “For this reason, all foods sweetened with aspartame must indicate, ‘contains aspartame’,” she said.

The pharmacist said healthier alternatives, besides sugar and saccharin, include honey, dates and fruits (fructose). She said the agency, currently, does not recommend a ban on the use of non-nutritive sweeteners, unless there is a global, scientifically established risk to humans.

On the way forward, Adeyeye said the agency would continue to ensure that the use of aspartame in food is technologically justified and within safe levels; and manufacturers of foods sweetened with aspartame have a cautionary statement.

Meanwhile, medical experts have corroborated WHO’s position that regular intake of soft drinks and other products containing aspartame may cause cancer.

The WHO’s cancer research agency, on Friday, classified aspartame as “possibly carcinogenic to humans”, although another United Nations (UN) committee reaffirmed that there was a safe daily level of consumption.

The medical experts include: a professor of oncology and radiation at University of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN)/University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH), Enugu, Ifeoma Okoye; a professor endocrinologist and diabetologist at College of Medicine University of Lagos (CMUL)/Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) Idi-Araba, Olufemi Fasanmade; and a professor of microbiology and Immunology at Nile University Abuja, Boaz Adegboro.

They unequivocally said regular consumption of food products containing aspartame causes cancer.