Canderel

• They have recommended the acceptable daily intake be 0 to 40mg per kilo of body weight, as we currently have in Australia.
• The hazard rating means it’s an agent that is capable of causing cancer; a risk measures the likelihood it could cause cancer.

Firstly, what is aspartame?

• It’s used in a variety of products including carbonated drinks such as Coke Zero, Diet Coke, Pepsi Max and some home brand offerings.
• You can identify aspartame in drinks and foods by looking for additive number 951.
• In Australia the acceptable daily intake is 40mg per kilo of body weight per day, which is about 60 sachets.

What evidence have they used to come to this conclusion?

• They found there was some limited evidence in human studies linking aspartame and cancer (specifically liver cancer) and limited evidence from animal studies as well.
• They also considered the biological mechanism studies which showed how cancer may develop from the consumption of aspartame.
• Usually these are lab-based studies which show exactly how exposure to the agent may lead to a cancer.
• In this case they found there was limited evidence for how aspartame might cause cancer.

What does each grouping mean?

• There are 126 agents in this group, including tobacco smoking, alcohol, processed meat, radiation and ionising radiation.
• There are 95 agents in this group, including red meat, DDT insecticide and night shift work.
• There are now 323 agents in this group, including aloe vera (whole leaf extract), ginkgo biloba and lead.

So do I have to give up my diet soft drink habit?

• For a 70kg person you would need to consume about 14 cans (over 5 litres) of soft drink sweetened with aspartame a day to reach the acceptable daily intake.
• But we need to remember there may also be aspartame added in other foods consumed.
• But overall, from this evidence, drinking the occasional or even daily can of a diet drink is safe and probably not a cancer risk.