L'aspartame va être déclaré "possiblement cancérogène" par l'OMS - I24NEWS

Boxes of Diet Coke in a Hong Kong supermarket - Image Source: FREDERIC BROWN / AFP In a Hong Kong grocery store, one can spot an assortment of Diet Coke cartons.

Last month, the World Health Organization stated that artificial sweeteners pose an elevated risk of diabetes and cardiovascular diseases.

The World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) will announce next month that aspartame, an artificial sweetener, "may be carcinogenic to humans," according to two sources close to the matter who spoke to Reuters. The decision is based on 130 studies, they added. Aspartame is extensively used by the food industry in products labeled as "sugar-free" or "light".

For several years, extensive research has been conducted on aspartame. Last year, a observational study conducted in France with 100,000 adults revealed that individuals who consumed larger quantities of artificial sweeteners, including aspartame, had a slightly increased risk of cancer.

It came after a study conducted by the Ramazzini Institute in Italy in the early 2000s, which revealed that certain cancers in mice and rats were associated with aspartame.

The use of aspartame is approved across the globe by regulators who claim to have thoroughly assessed all available evidence, while major food and beverage manufacturers have long been defending their inclusion of this ingredient.

According to insiders from the CIRC, the labeling of aspartame as a potential carcinogen is meant to encourage further research in order to assist agencies, consumers, and manufacturers in drawing more reliable conclusions. In response, the industry is preparing to counterattack, starting by questioning the role and credibility of this organization.

"The World Health Organization (WHO) is not a food safety organization and its assessment of aspartame is not scientifically comprehensive, relying largely on widely discredited research," stated Frances Hunt-Wood, Secretary-General of the International Sweeteners Association (ISA).

Last month, the World Health Organization also cautioned against the use of artificial sweeteners, highlighting that long-term consumption of artificial sweeteners may raise the likelihood of developing type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases, as well as increasing mortality rates among users.