WHO releases reports on artificial sweetener aspartame and cancer risk

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The World Health Organization’s cancer research group on Thursday said that it was categorizing the common artificial sweetener found in Diet Coke and other sugar-free foods and drinks as a possible carcinogen, but the agency’s food safety group said that the evidence wasn’t convincing and that the compound could still be consumed safely in fairly high amounts.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said it did not agree that aspartame should be categorized as a possible carcinogen.

“Aspartame is one of the most studied food additives in the human food supply. FDA scientists do not have safety concerns when aspartame is used under the approved conditions,” the FDA said in a statement.

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