1. Artificial sweeteners compared to sugar: Saccharin is 300 times sweeter; Cyclamate is 30 times sweeter and Aspartame (NutraSweet) is also 180 to 200 times sweeter.
2. Foods and beverages containing Aspartame (NutraSweet) are required by FDA to include a warning to individuals suffering from a rare genetic disease called Phenylketonuria (PKU). The warning notes that phenylalanine, an amino acid whose intake must be restricted by PKU victims, is present in the product. Phenylalanine is an essential nutrient fo human beings. However, when it increases to very high levels in body fluids, those who cannot metabolize it normally can suffer brain damage and mental retardation. Those most susceptible to brain damage from PKU are infants. All states require newborn children to be screened for the disease. A person not born with PKU does not develop it later.
3. Aspartame's (NutraSweet) success in the market place has been immense. Yet, FDA's approval has not stilled all public concern about its use. Following the 1983 approval for carbonated beverage use, some scientists and consumer groups charged that aspartame was a health hazard because it broke down and exposed consumers to excessive levels of methanol. At high enough levels, methanol is a poison and can cause blindness. It also is metabolized into formaldehyde, a "known carcinogen," the critics have charged.
4. Critics maintain that decomposition of aspartame could occur and expose consumers to possibly high levels of methanol and formaldehyde if a beverage containing the sweetener was stored for long periods at high temperatures.
FDA evaluated the charges and concluded "that the levels of methanol resulting from the use of Aspartame in carbonated beverages did not pose any safety issues because they were well below levels of exposure expected to produce toxicity." It was also noted that other foods including juices, fruits and vegetables exposed consumers to higher amounts of methanol without adverse effects. Re: NutraSweet - Canderel - Aspartame, etc. Page 2: HSHG-PND SUBJECT: Status of Artificially Sweetener Re: NutraSweet - Canderel - Aspartame, etc.
5. Aspartame does break down rapidly under high heat, and is less stable in liquids possibly creating taste problems when beverages are stored for long periods at high temperatures. In seeking approval for soft drink use the manufacturer provided data to the FDA on "typical storage periods" up to 52 weeks at temperatures ranging from 41 to 131 degrees Fahrenheit. As storage temperature rise and the length of time in storage increases, aspartame increasingly loses some of its sweetening effect.
6. This abstract was taken from the FDA Consumer/February 1985.
Additional Note: Over the last 18 to 24 months, documentation of well over 500 cases of birth defects directly related to NutraSweet have been identified in Canada.
EDWARD J. THOMPSON Educational/Civilian Program Coordinator, Alcohol and Drug Prevention and Control Program DISTRIBUTION C.D 25 CYC-RMA
(Article changed on March 6, 2018 at 19:31)
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