Aspartame “is dangerous.” European campaign calls for ban

Brussels – In just a few hours since the campaign launch today (Feb. 7), there are already 130,000 online signatures. “Today, we launch a widespread European petition to demand a ban on aspartame in our diets, in collaboration with the French League Against Cancer and the NGO Foodwatch,” the Yuka Association announced.

The signatures, which will go to the European Commission, are at the bottom of a text claiming that: “The artificial additive aspartame is currently used in more than 2,500 products across the EU. In a context of growing public awareness about the dangers of sugary drinks, we are being bombarded with advertisements for popular ‘diet’ or ‘low sugar’ soda drinks containing the food additive aspartame.”

EU regulations on food additives stipulate that only substances that pose no health risks can be allowed on the market. “Yet, the International Agency of Research on Cancer (IARC), part of the World Health Organization (WHO), has classified aspartame as possibly carcinogenic to humans, adding to decades of scientific evidence about the association between this additive and health risks, which also include cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes or microbiome disorders.” In contrast, the risk assessment of the Joint FAO-WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA), which considers aspartame safe for consumption, “suffers major scientific flaws. In the meantime, scientific studies have also raised questions about its long-term benefits for weight control.”

Therefore, the petition calls for urgent measures “to ban the additive aspartame/E951 in food and beverages in the EU. The precautionary principle is a key principle in the EU to safeguard public health, enshrined in Article 191 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) and in the General Food Law (Regulation (EC) No 178/2002).” Article 114(3) of the TFEU also requires the European Commission to act for health and consumer protection based on the latest scientific facts. “The European Commission and all Member States must take a proactive stance and prioritize the health of their citizens by banning aspartame now,” the petition concludes.