WHO classifies aspartame as a carcinogen... MFDS maintains current usage standards

The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety has decided to maintain the current usage standards for the sweetener 'Aspartame,' which recently sparked controversy due to its classification as a carcinogen. This decision follows the announcement by the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA), under the World Health Organization (WHO), stating that aspartame is safe at current consumption levels.

According to the Ministry on the 14th, two WHO-affiliated expert organizations, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) and JECFA, have each released their evaluations regarding the safety of aspartame. First, IARC classified aspartame as Group 2B (possibly carcinogenic to humans) in its carcinogen classification. However, JECFA maintained the previously established acceptable daily intake (ADI) of 40 mg per kilogram of body weight per day and assessed that aspartame is safe at current consumption levels.

At first glance, it may seem that the two WHO-affiliated organizations have presented conflicting research results, but this stems from differences in their evaluation methods. IARC is a research agency that assesses the cancer risk of specific substances themselves, without considering actual intake levels. Regardless of consumption amounts, it classifies carcinogens into Group 1, 2A, and 2B based on research data on whether the substance causes cancer in humans or experimental animals. Group 1 includes substances confirmed to cause cancer, Group 2A includes substances probably carcinogenic to humans, and Group 2B includes substances possibly carcinogenic to humans. The 2B group, to which aspartame was assigned this time, is classified when there is insufficient evidence that it causes cancer in experimental animals or humans.

However, being classified as a carcinogen by IARC does not mean it cannot be consumed. For example, Group 1 includes alcohol and processed meats such as sausages, and Group 2A includes red meats like beef and pork. Notably, sunlight, which we are exposed to daily, is also classified as Group 1. This is because the link between sunlight and skin cancer has been scientifically confirmed, illustrating that IARC classifications are based solely on scientific criteria without considering practical daily life.

Conversely, JECFA evaluates safety based on the 'consumption' of food. Regulatory agencies in each country refer to JECFA’s evaluations to set safety management standards appropriate to their national circumstances. In this evaluation, JECFA concluded that there is insufficient scientific evidence to change the current ADI, considering ▲ that aspartame is completely hydrolyzed in the gastrointestinal tract into phenylalanine, aspartic acid, and methanol, so the amount of aspartame in the body does not increase ▲ that all oral carcinogenicity studies have scientific limitations ▲ and that evidence of genotoxicity is lacking.

The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety judged that maintaining the current usage standards for aspartame is reasonable, considering JECFA’s evaluation results and the aspartame intake of Korean citizens surveyed in 2019. At that time, the average aspartame intake of Koreans was only 0.12% of the ADI set by JECFA, a very low level. However, the Ministry plans to periodically investigate the intake of sweeteners overall, considering consumer concerns and the popularity of sugar-free beverages, and to re-evaluate standards and specifications as necessary.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.