China’s Response to Aspartame Sweetener Being Declared as “Possibly Carcinogenic”

Following the recent dispute of aspartame being declared as “possible carcinogenic”, China National Center for Food Safety Risk Assessment (CFSA) has responded to the assessment results of aspartame, affirming that aspartame’s safety can be ensured if it's used in compliance with current national standards and regulations in China.

On July 14, International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) and Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) released the hazard and risk assessment results of the non-sugar sweetener aspartame. IARC classified aspartame as 'possibly carcinogenic to humans' (Group 2B) based on limited evidence for cancer in humans. JECFA confirmed that the acceptable daily intake (ADI) of 40 mg/kg body weight of aspartame remains unchanged. This has sparked widespread attention in China.

Following the late June news on aspartame's potential carcinogenicity, the topic "aspartame causes cancer" rapidly trended on Weibo, China’s leading social media, with over 250 million views and over 18,000 discussions. After IARC and JECFA’s official release on July 14, the topic “aspartame is declared as 'possibly carcinogenic'” garnered more than 100 million views and over 9,000 discussions.

The viral discussion of Aspartame is likely driven by people's pursuit of health. In recent years, many Chinese consumers have realized sugar overconsumption harms health, thus preferring sugar-free products. As a common non-sugar sweetener, aspartame is widely used in sugar-free foods and beverages. Despite the report only classifying aspartame as "possibly carcinogenic" with inconclusive results, it still raised concerns among Chinese consumers.

Facts about aspartame

Aspartame is a popular artificial sweetener that's about 200 times sweeter than sucrose. It's widely used as a sugar substitute in numerous food products, including beverages like Coke Zero and Fanta Zero, sugar-free gum like Mentos gum, and snacks such as some Orion food products.

According to the ADI of aspartame confirmed by JECFA, given a can of soft drink contains 200-300 mg of aspartame, the aspartame intake of an adult weighing 70 kg may exceed the ADI only if consuming more than 9-14 cans per day, assuming zero intake from other food sources.

IARC's classification of aspartame as 2B is mostly due to the limited evidence indicating a possible association between human consumption of the substance and a type of liver cancer called hepatocellular carcinoma. Besides, the classification system mainly reflects the strength of scientific evidence instead of the risk of developing cancer. Group 2B is the third highest level out of 4 levels, which means the relative lack of evidence to prove its carcinogenic risk in humans.

Other things that are on the class 2B list include aloe vera extract, traditional Asian pickled vegetables and caffeic acid, among others.

Response from China's authority

On July 14, 2023, CFSA responded to the assessment results of aspartame, stating that the safety of aspartame can be ensured when used in compliance with current national standards and regulations in China.

In China, food products that contain aspartame are required to be labeled clearly to indicate its presence. Examples of maximum limits for aspartame are shown below:

Food Name	Maximum Limits (g/kg)
Modified milk	0.6
Flavored fermented milk	1.0
Ice cream, ice cream bar	1.0
Fruit and vegetable juice (syrup) drinks	0.6

For more information related to aspartame regulations in China, please refer to the following links:

Response from enterprises in China

Since news broke of aspartame's potential carcinogenicity in late June, many Chinese companies have issued statements asserting that their products do not contain aspartame. These include Layn Natural Ingredients, Chi Forest, and Sanyuan Biotechnology. Additionally, some products in brick-and-mortar stores now display clear "0 Aspartame" labels.

Zero Aspartame Label

Well-known brands that do use this ingredient, such as Mengniu and Pepsi, continue to sell their products as usual. The customer support executives of their official online flagship store make similar statements that the aspartame in their products complies with national standards and is safe for consumption.

Companies uses aspartame are currently in a wait-and-see mode, assessing the fallout from the controversy. The subsequent impact on the industry and market will depend on consumer's awareness and response.