Brussels, 10/04/2013 (Agence Europe) - A new stage has begun in the aspartame saga. Transparency and openness are now the watchwords of the European Food Safety Agency (EFSA) for restoring confidence. EFSA put its words into practice by organising a meeting in Brussels on Tuesday 9 April of all the different stakeholders - scientific experts from the member states' competent authorities, NGOs, agri-food industry representatives, consumer rights organisations and academics - to debate EFSA's draft opinion on the safety of aspartame (also known as E 951 under its food additive code). This artificial flavouring is controversial due to its potential risks and undesirable health side-effects.
Publication of its preliminary opinion at the beginning of the year reaffirmed that the acceptable daily dose (40 mg per kilo of body weight) was safe. This was accompanied in February by a broad public consultation that generated 219 different contributions and which is currently being examined.
On Tuesday, the discussions with a broad range of experts helped to expand the consultation and further renew the polemic on the potentially damaging effects of this flavouring. The results from these two exercises will be published at the same time as the final EFSA opinion expected in May. The competent scientific group from EFSA (the scientific committee on food additives and sources of nutrition) are currently working on its finalisation.
Alicjia Mortensen, the group's president said that “we understood better the commentaries that we received and, for example, understand that we have to better explain why we include or exclude certain studies from our risk assessments”.
Initially expected out at the end of September 2012, the EFSA opinion was postponed because EFSA had to request additional scientific data from all stakeholders regarding DKP (5-benzyl-3, 6-dioxo-2-piperazine-acetic acid) and other primary and secondary by-products from taspartame metabolism that can form in foodstuffs and drinks when they are stored in certain conditions. In May 2011, the European Commission called on EFSA to provide it with a new and comprehensive assessment of aspartame's safety in 2012. (AN/transl.fl)