Should You be Worried About Your Aspartame Consumption? Here’s the Breakdown

Recently, there has been conflicting news on whether the artificial sweetener aspartame is safe to consume. Here is everything you need to know.

Last week, the World Health Organization’s (WHO) International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) declared that the artificial sweetener used in low-calorie products like Diet Coke and Trident gum is “possibly carcinogenic to humans.”

The Department of Nutrition and Food Safety at the WHO clarified that concern was only for “high consumers” of food and drinks containing aspartame.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the WHO have not changed the acceptable amount of daily aspartame intake. To exceed that limit, an adult weighing 154 pounds would need to consume nine to 14 cans of a diet soft drink containing 200 or 300 mg of aspartame.

So, should you be worried about your aspartame consumption? The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s scientists announced that they do not have safety concerns about aspartame in response to IARC’s conclusion. They believe there are “shortcomings in the studies.”

According to CNBC, WHO’s announcement may not deter consumers who consume a small amount of food and drinks containing aspartame, but has the potential to temporarily hurt sales.