In December 2013 the European Food Safety Authority EFSA (the European FDA) published its first full risk assessment of aspartame. "The opinion concludes that aspartame and its breakdown products are safe for general population (including infants, children and pregnant women).

The current Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI) of 40mg/kg bw/day is considered protective for the general population and consumer exposure to aspartame is well below this ADI. However, in patients suffering from the medical condition phenylketonuria (PKU), the ADI is not applicable, as they require strict adherence to a diet low in phenylalanine (an amino acid making up proteins found in many foods)."

More info here: 

http://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/topics/topic/aspartame.htm

If you're determined to sweeten your foods and beverages, I recommend you to  use stevia extract – a safe and natural sweet herb. Lo Han is another herbal sweetener that doesn't have the aftertaste of stevia that many object to.

I totaly agree with your opinion, Amelia!

Hi!

I hope to help you with this website (Cesare Maltoni Cancer Research Center, Ramazzini Institute, Bologna, Italy)

http://www.ramazzini.org/centro-di-ricerca/pubblicazioni/?ccategory=cibo-e-bevande&pyear

You can found some papers about cancerogenic effect of aspartame.

Good luck with your work.

Dear Ellie,

There are three points to the aspartame question:

- aspartame (the methylester of a dipeptide containing phenylalanine and aspartic acid) per se is safe for the general population, as reported by EFSA (as Gerd Kloeck wrote earlier); it is digested and metabolized.

- aspartame because it contained phenylalanine is toxic for phenylketonuria patients; these people are on a very restricted and controlled diet, because there are many other foods that cause problems (also as written by Gerd Kloeck).

- low calorie sweeteners, whether synthetic or natural, are not a good idea; your body reacts to the sweet taste by activiting inulin secretion (and the whole cascade of hormons and regulators), which leads to lower blood glusoee and hunger, hence increased food intake, If you crave sweet taste, better eat moderately of products with sugar (sucrose rather than fructose actually).

I would not be so enthousiastic about stevia, which has know pharmacological activities.

By the way, do you know that the one intense sweetener (E958) which was banned by the EU after authorization was a natural sweetener, glycyrrhizin extracted from licorice root (following acute renal problems)?

Catherine

Please have a look at this useful RG link.

Article Revisiting the safety of aspartame