The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has issued a public consultation on its draft scientific opinion on the safety of the artificial sweetener aspartame that says the ingredient poses no toxicity concern for consumers at current levels of exposure.
It also said the current Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI) is considered to be safe for the general population and consumer exposure to aspartame is below this ADI.
Regulatory bodies around the world have evaluated the safety of aspartame since the 1980s; however, this is the first full evaluation of aspartame that has been requested of EFSA and has been carried out by the Authority’s Scientific Panel on Food Additive and Nutrient Sources Added to Food (ANS Panel). The review included two public calls for data which included a large body of scientific information comprised of published and previously unpublished data and studies.
All stakeholders and interested parties are invited to comment on the draft opinion through the online public consultation by Feb. 15, 2013.