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Poisons
> Aspartame
Do some products seem to make you or your family ill?
Aspartame or NutraSweet as it is more commonly known is a commonly used food
additive and artificial sweetener found in approximately 5000 food products,
including medicines, diet drinks and chewing gum.
It is primarily thought to cause to and behavioral disorders in children.
Press Release for The NZ Green Party
The New Zealand Green Party is calling on the Government to
urgently review current regulations governing the use of
aspartame, following the release of a new three year study
linking regular use of the sweetener with increased
incidence of leukaemia, lymphoma and breast cancer in
animals.
“Considering how widely aspartame is used and consumed by
young children as well as adults, an urgent review is
essential,” says Green Party Safe Food Spokesperson Sue
Kedgley.
“In the meantime, it’s imperative that consumers are made
aware of these findings, and of the significant number of
adverse side effects that can be caused by aspartame in
warning labels on food and drink products that contain the
additive.
“The new study, published this month (August-September 2007) in the journal
Environmental Health Perspectives, also reported that when
exposure to the sweetener starts during fetal life, the
potential carcinogenic effects are increased. The US Food
and Drug Administration and the European Food Safety
Authority are planning to review this new evidence, and New
Zealand must follow this lead,” Ms Kedgley says.
“This is the second comprehensive study by the
Ramazzini
Foundation shows a link between carcinogenic illness and
relatively low levels of aspartame, levels approaching the
acceptable daily intake (ADI) for humans.
European Food Safety Authority Directive
96/21/EC [Official Journal L 88 of 05.04.1996].
Council Directive of 29 March 1996 amending Commission Directive
94/54/EC concerning the compulsory indication on the labelling of certain
foodstuffs of particulars other than those provided for in Council Directive
79/112/EEC. This Directive requires food labels to include relevant
information on the sweeteners contained in foodstuffs. It also stipulates that
warnings should appear on the labels of foodstuffs containing aspartame or
polyols.
“Aspartame is one of the most common - and controversial -
food additives in our food supply and it’s potential adverse
effects were highlighted recently by the case of Wellington
woman Abby Cormack who thought she was dying after
experiencing a range of severe side effects after consuming
high amounts of chewing gum containing aspartame.
“Instead of just putting their head in the sand over this
issue, it’s time our regulators put the health of consumers
ahead of the profits of the food industry,” Ms Kedgley
says..
Another concerning finding of the study is that when
exposure to aspartame begins during foetal life where its
carcinogenic effects are increased.
“This increases the need for warning labels to consumers as
in the EU,
and in particular pregnant women and the fact that thousands of children are consuming these
products shows the need for urgent action," Ms Kedgley says.
Aspartame a Deadly Menace
From a summary of our reading on
aspartame, we understand that aspartame has directly
caused a great many serious health problems and
deaths in the population. Furthermore that it was
approved by the FDA in the US on the evidence of
scientists employed or remunerated by the companies
developing the product as a sugar substitute.
As we understand the manufacturers case to the FDA,
they would have emphasised the benefits of improved
health for the population, by providing a low calorie
alternative to sugar and the health problems it
causes, like weight gain, hypoglycaemia and diabetes.
As the corporations responsible developing aspartame are working in their own
self interest and have a reputation for valuing profits above human life and
unethical practice, we do not know how honest this process of product
development and registration was. There is also widespread
suspicion in the community that there may have been
dishonesty in this process, either by creating
experiments to confirm the desired results, or
misrepresentation of the product.
In the sites linked, there is some
scientific data and lots of information and conjecture. We feel that
there is sufficient evidence to withdraw aspartame from public consumption and
until then, a public warning is required
on all products containing aspartame as on cigarettes.
More Reading
Page 1.
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2
page 3,
Aspartame in Medicines
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