[Q&A] Aspartame Use Can Continue... Average National Intake Is Low

On the 14th, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety decided to maintain the current usage standards for the sweetener "Aspartame," which has 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) that there are no safety concerns with aspartame at current intake levels. Although WHO classified aspartame as a Group 2B carcinogen, it decided to maintain the existing acceptable daily intake. Group 2B generally indicates a possible carcinogen but lacks sufficient scientific evidence. Questions related to aspartame have been summarized based on explanations from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety.

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- What is Aspartame?

▲ Aspartame is a food additive used to provide sweetness to foods, composed of two amino acids (phenylalanine and aspartic acid), which are protein components. Since its approval as a food additive in the United States in 1981, it has been used in most countries worldwide, including Japan and Europe, and has been used in South Korea since 1985. Although its caloric value is the same as sugar (4 kcal/g), its sweetness is about 200 times greater than sugar, so only a small amount is needed to provide sweetness.

- What is the acceptable daily intake of Aspartame?

▲ The acceptable daily intake (ADI) refers to the amount of a specific substance that can be consumed daily over a lifetime without causing any health problems, expressed in milligrams per kilogram of body weight (mg/kg). The Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA), the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), and South Korea have set the ADI for aspartame at 40 mg/kg/day. For example, the ADI for an adult weighing 60 kg is 2.4 g per day. This amount corresponds to consuming 55 cans of zero-calorie cola (250 ml each) or 33 bottles of Takju (750 ml each) per day. For reference, the United States has set a higher ADI of 50 mg/kg/day.

- What is the level of Aspartame intake among South Koreans?

▲ According to a 2019 survey, the average intake of aspartame among South Koreans was about 0.12% of the ADI. Even among extreme consumers who prefer foods containing aspartame, the intake was estimated to be about 3.31% of the ADI.

- How much Aspartame can be used in foods in South Korea?

▲ Currently, South Korea has set maximum allowable amounts (0.8 to 5.5 g/kg) for aspartame use in eight food categories, including bread, snacks, cereals, and health functional foods, but there are no usage limits for other foods. Among approximately 860,000 food items reported domestically, about 0.47% (3,995 items as of last year) contain aspartame.

- What does it mean that Aspartame is classified as Group 2B?

▲ The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), under WHO, classifies substances into four groups (1, 2A, 2B, 3) based on their carcinogenicity. Group 2B, where aspartame is classified, indicates a possible human carcinogen but lacks sufficient scientific evidence from animal or human studies to confirm carcinogenicity. Group 2B also includes commonly consumed foods such as pickled vegetables, so being classified as Group 2B does not mean that consumption of these foods should be prohibited. For example, alcohol and tobacco are classified as Group 1, and high-temperature fried foods and red meat as Group 2A, yet their consumption is not currently restricted or banned.

- Can Aspartame continue to be used in the future?

▲ Since there are no safety concerns at current levels of aspartame intake, its use can continue in the future.

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