WASHINGTON – The following statement is on behalf of American Beverage in response to Reuters UK:

“There is a broad consensus in the scientific and regulatory community that aspartame is safe. It’s a conclusion reached time and time again by food safety agencies around the world. 

“IARC is not a food safety agency. The FDA says JECFA is better suited to assess any risk associated with aspartame. And in its letter to WHO, HHS said ‘an IARC review of aspartame… would be incomplete and its conclusions could be confusing to consumers.’ We share this concern. 

JECFA, the WHO-FAO expert agency on the safety of food additives, will consider all the evidence for all potential health outcomes and, unlike IARC, will focus on the risk to human health. Even IARC states, as recently published on its website, JECFA is the appropriate authority to undertake risk assessment. 

The purpose and expertise of regulatory agencies is to ensure safety over time. We welcome that. The safety of our products is the highest priority for our industry. The fact that food safety agencies worldwide, including the FDA, continue to find aspartame safe makes us confident in the safety of our products.”

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