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By Gary Ruskin
In the World Health Organization’s (WHO) July 14 hazard and risk assessments of aspartame, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classified aspartame as “possibly carcinogenic” — but the Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) reaffirmed the acceptable daily intake of 40 mg/kg of body weight.
One question is: why the split decision?
Why doesn’t the JECFA recommendation line up with the IARC classification or the May WHO guideline not to use non-sugar sweeteners for weight control?
One possible answer: At least six out of 13 JECFA panel members have ties to the International Life Sciences Institute (ILSI), a longtime Coca-Cola front group. Both the chair and vice chair of the JECFA panel have ties to ILSI.
See Gaël Lombart’s coverage in Le Parisien.
JEFCA is an international scientific expert committee administered jointly by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the WHO.
JECFA panelists ruling on a chemical that is important to Coca-Cola should not be affiliated with a longtime Coca-Cola front group.
This is an obvious conflict of interest. Because of this conflict of interest, JECFA’s conclusions about aspartame are not credible, and the public should not rely on them.
Aspartame is the sweetener in Diet Coke.
Here are JECFA panelists with ILSI ties:
- Sue Barlow: Former member of an ILSI committee (ILSI International Food Biotechnology Committee).
- Diane Benford (chair): Former member of an ILSI Europe expert group.
- Richard Cantrill (vice-chair): Former participant in an ILSI Europe panel.
- Jean-Charles Leblanc: Former member of an ILSI Europe expert group.
- Josef Schlatter: Former member of ILSI Health and Environmental Sciences Institute (HESI) board of trustees.
- Michael DiNovi: Former member of an ILSI Europe expert workgroup.
Originally published by U.S. Right to Know.
Gary Ruskin is the executive director of U.S. Right to Know.
