World Health Organization’s Announcement: Aspartame Identified as a Potential Carcinogen

The World Health Organization (WHO) is planning to declare aspartame, an artificial sweetener found in diet sodas, soft drinks, and other reduced-sugar gums and condiments, to be a possible carcinogen. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), which is the cancer arm of the WHO, recently indicated that aspartame will likely be declared a “possible carcinogen to humans” . This would mean that there is some evidence linking aspartame to cancer, but that it is limited. The IARC has two more serious categories, “probably carcinogenic to humans” and “carcinogenic to humans” .

The WHO’s expected announcement on July 14 could potentially put cancer into that category — for aspartame specifically — calling the sweetener “possibly carcinogenic to humans” . However, it is important to note that various agencies, including the European Food Safety Authority and U.S. Food and Drug Administration, have not found any definitive evidence linking aspartame to cancer.