WHO warning on aspartame makes life less sweet for beverage makers

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The World Health Organization has classified the artificial sweetener aspartame, commonly found in carbonated drinks, as “possibly carcinogenic”, raising the risk of consumers reacting to beverage giants such as PepsiCo and Coca-Cola.

The global health body said the revised classification was based on limited evidence and recommends that people limit their daily intake to no more than 40 milligrams per kilogram of body weight – or between 9 and 14 cans of normal-sized soft drinks – was unchanged.

However, any scientific uncertainty over whether artificially sweetened food and drink is healthy poses a risk for consumer goods companies under pressure to reduce sugar levels in products and improve their unhealthy image.

The industry’s response to calls to combat obesity and reduce the amount of sugar in junk food and drinks has been to promote zero-calorie alternatives. Aspartame is one of the most widely used artificial sweeteners in food and drink, ranging from low-sugar carbonated beverages such as Diet Coke, Diet Fanta and Diet Pepsi to Mars’s added sugar-free chewing gum and Müller light yogurts. found in products.

For decades, scientists have debated whether artificial sweeteners are good or bad for us, leading to confusion among consumers as to whether Coke or Diet Coke is the healthier option.

Representatives of the soft drink industry argued that the WHO announcement confirms that aspartame is safe to consume.

Kate Lotman, executive director of the International Council of Beverages Association, a global beverage trade body, said the decision “will play an important role in informing consumers as they consider all options for reducing sugar and calories in their diets.”

PepsiCo and Coca-Cola declined to comment. Mueller said it uses very small amounts of aspartame in some of its products and regularly reviews its ingredients to make sure they comply with the requirements.

The WHO said that although it has not changed its advice on daily intake limits, companies may consider re-evaluating their ingredient formulations to move away from artificial sweeteners.

“We are not advising companies to withdraw products or consumers to stop consumption completely, just to exercise some moderation,” said Francesco Branca, director of the Department of Nutrition and Food Safety at the WHO.

“It’s about changing the formulation of the products and the choice of ingredients so that you can get a tasty product without using sweeteners,” he said.

Food safety regulators are unlikely to change their advice following the WHO news. Professor Robin May, chief scientific adviser to the Food Standards Agency, said the report supported the UK watchdog’s view that aspartame is safe to consume, but called for further research “to help increase understanding of this potential issue”. WHO’s call for

However, official guidance has not stopped consumers in the past from staying away from diet drinks containing aspartame. Diet soda demand declined in the 2000s to 2010s due to concerns over the sweetener’s possible carcinogenic effects.

In 2015, PepsiCo removed aspartame from Diet Pepsi following consumer concerns over its effects, which led to a long-term decline in demand for low- and no-sugar-added beverages.

At the time, Seth Kaufman, the company’s senior vice president of Pepsi and the flavor portfolio, said, “Diet cola drinkers in America told us they want aspartame-free Diet Pepsi and we’re delivering.” Yet the reformulation failed to prevent a further decline in sales, and the beverage-and-snacks company re-introduced the sweetener a year later.

The threat of increasing sugar taxes and stricter labeling requirements in the US, UK and Europe has made the need for consumer goods companies to reduce the sugar content in their products all the more urgent.

However, the latest findings from the WHO raise another red flag on whether artificial sweeteners are the answer.

A 2014 study by Israel’s Weizmann Institute concluded that the use of artificial sweeteners may promote obesity. The WHO said earlier this year that consumers should avoid sweeteners altogether because evidence suggests they do not reduce body fat and may be associated with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes, heart disease and death.

Emma Clifford, associate director at market research company Mintel, said: “The widespread concerns over artificial sweeteners pose a major challenge to low, no and low sugar product development, particularly in the soft drinks market, where the use of these ingredients has become increasingly prevalent. ” ,

“Products that are able to claim that they are ‘free of sweeteners’ within the categories where these ingredients are commonly used must use them prominently on their packaging and in their marketing,” he added.

One risk for companies, especially those based in the US, is the risk of litigation. Reassurances from regulatory bodies have in the past failed to protect companies from class-action lawsuits over possibly carcinogenic properties.

German conglomerate Bayer is embroiled in a long-running legal battle in the US following its $63 billion acquisition of seed maker Monsanto in 2016, which saw the group face litigation over the allegedly carcinogenic weed killer Roundup. Bayer maintains that the product is safe and adds that scientific research supports that view. The US Environmental Protection Agency said that current use of glyphosate, the ingredient used in Roundup, poses no risk of concern to human health.