What about Aspartame in the UK?

We tend to hear all the news about what happens in the USA, but what about the UK?

Calls for world’s most popular artificial sweetener to be banned in UK under incoming Brexit powers - HERE & HERE & HERE & HERE  - Professor Erik Millstone & Elisabeth Lawson

and then the authorities reply: Food Standards Agencies rule out Aspartame bans as scientists warns of 'adverse effects' on consumers: HERE

Read Professor Erik Millstone & Elisabeth Dawson's 2020 paper: Why did EFSA not reduce its ADI for aspartame or recommend its use should no longer be permitted?  HERE

Aspartame's approval was rubber stamped for inclusion in the nation's food chain when the FDA approved it for human consumption in America.

"Food Standards was setup to keep its distance from industry, yet this comment is made on Food Standards web site: . Monday 7 July 2008 "The Prime Minister has called for stronger partnerships between Government and the food services industry". Yet Food Standards was created specifically to distance the organization from the food services industry so decisions would be based on consumer safety and truth and not industry propaganda. The Food Standards web site is full of industry propaganda." Betty Martini.



In 2006, 47 UK Members of Parliament supported the aspartame ban initiative of Roger Williams, MP.



Roger Williams, MP for Brecon and Radnorshire and Liberal Democrat Food and Rural Affairs spokesperson, has welcomed the announcement that the Food Standards Agency, FSA, are to reinvestigate the safety of the diet product Aspartame.

Andrew Wadge, Chief Scientist at the FSA has said that "The Agency's view remains that aspartame can be consumed safely and we are not recommending any changes to its current use. However, we know that some people consider they react badly to consuming this sweetener so we think it is important to increase our knowledge about what is happening."

Roger Williams, said:

"Although the FSA say that the safety of this product has already been established, the fact that a fresh scoping study is being carried out points to concern about this product.

"I welcome this new investigation and look forward to seeing what conclusions are drawn by the FSA."

"It is disappointing that the results will not be available until 2011 but nonetheless it is a positive step forward by the FSA.

"In recent years I have done significant work on these chemical compounds and my belief is that they can have profoundly damaging effects on certain individuals. "

MP Calls For UK Ban On Aspartame - HERE

---

Betty Martini last wrote to the Scottish Government in June 2018 but was referred back to the FSA (Food Standards Authority) industry reply that Aspartame is safe. Betty reminded Kim Oliver:
"Food Standards uses the aspartame's propaganda on their web site even though they have been sent  information from aspartame experts, and scientific peer reviewed research."

Here is information from the UK Food Guide on E951, aspartame: Note it says: " Aspartame sugar substitutes cause worrying symptoms from memory loss to brain tumours. But despite US FDA approval as a ‘safe’ additive, aspartame is one of the most dangerous substances ever to be foisted upon an unsuspecting public."  to no avail.
  • Sign a petition to ban Aspartame in the UK - HERE 
  • Aspartame...after all these years...what parliament needs to know immediately HERE 
  • Aspartame Study UK - Betty's letter to Stephen Johnson (Food Standards Agency) in 2010 - HERE
  • How Aspartame got approved in England (the famous Guardian article) By Dr. Betty Martini, D.Hum. Mission Possible InternationalHERE
  • Will Europe Ban Aspartame? UK Orders A Full Investigation - HERE
-----------
This from:
February 13, l984, The Guardian

CHARITY LINKED TO MAKERS OF SUSPECT DRUG ASPARTAME CONTROVERSY
by Andrew Veltch Medical Correspondent (front page)

"Professor Paul Turner, head of the Government committee which approved the controversial artificial sweetener, aspartame, has an indirect link with its manufacturer, G. D. Searle.
Synthelabo, Searle's major partner in Europe, is behind the funding of Professor Turner's research at St. Bartholomew's Hospital in London.

Professor Turner told the Guardian on Friday: "The Department of Health and Social security are aware of any commercial relationships I have, including my relationship with Synthelabo and the Charterhouse Unit. These were declared several years ago."

His research is funded by a charity called the Synthelabo Foundation, which receives it money from a limited company called the Charterhouse Clinical Research Unit. The share capital for that company was provided by Lers, a subsidiary of Synthelabo.

Studies have shown that aspartame would seriously damage some children.
Page 4 continued:

The head of the Government committee responsible for approving the controversial new artificial sweetener aspartame - sold as Canderel and NutraSweet - has an indirect but significant link with the manufacturers, G. D. Searle.

A charity set up by Professor Paul Turner, chairman of the toxicity committee, to fund his research at St. Bartholomew's Hospital, London, is backed by Searle's biggest partner in Europe, Synthelabo.
Chairman and members of expert committees which examine potentially hazardous substances are obliged to declare their commercial interests when they are appointed, and in practice, before each meeting. Although Professor Turner's interest may not qualify as a "commercial interest," senior members of the medical establishment consider it to be in the public interest for such matters to be declared.

The junior health minister, Mr. John Patten, wrote in a letter during the parliamentary row over aspartame in October that Professor Turner had never had any connections with Searle.
Professor Turner's charity is the Synthelabo Foundation, of which he is one of two trustees. The other is the vice-president in charge of research at Synthelabo. Professor Guiseppe Bartholini.
Searle and Synthelabo, the fourth biggest drugs company in France, have set up three joint companies in the last two years --one, called Lorex, in the UK last year.

Four years ago a Synthelabo subsidiary, Lers, provided the share capital to set up a limited company to fund Professor Turner's charity, the company is called the Charterhouse Clinical Research Unit.
Professor Turner is a consultant to Charterhouse, whose chairman, Mr. Paul Barclay, is the English lawyer for the Synthelabo group. The Charterhouse medical director, Dr. Steven Warrington, is an honorary lecturer in Professor Turner's pharmacology department at St. Bartholomew's.
Mr. Patten said in a letter to the Labour MP, Mr. Dale Campbell-Savours, in October: "Professor Turner has never had any connections with Searle, nor has he or anyone in his department been funded by them."

Professor Turner told the Guardian: "The Department of Health and Social Security is aware of any commercial relationships I have, including my relationship with Synthelabo and the Charterhouse Unit. These were declared several years ago."
Both aspartame and the partnership with Synthelabo are considered essential to Searle's survival, according to City analysts.

When the l983 results are in, they are likely to show that Searle's operating profits from drugs have "plunged by as much as 75 per cent," while profits from aspartame may have "more than quadrupled," according to the US brokers, Kidder Peabody. Searle is expected to sell nearly $600 million worth of aspartame worldwide this year.

The decline in Searle's drug business has been caused by a lack of new products. The Synthelabo connection gives Searle access to high-grade European research. The first joint company was Lorex, set up in the United States in l982. Lorex has since formed a Canadian subsidiary. The other two joint companies were set up last year -- one in Holland, the other in the UK.

Synthelabo, based in Paris and owned by the beauty firm L'Oreal (which is itself owned by Nestle) was until a few years ago a medium-sized company investing heavily in research.
The Searle deals form what is thought to be the largest single sector of am ambitious expansion programme that has made it the fourth biggest drugs firm in France. The Searle connection has given Synthelabo the status of an international company, as well as a new outlets, for its producers. Itis in Synthelabo's interests to ensure that Searle thrives.

Professor Turner and his colleague. Dr. Warrington, have worked on the development of Synthelabo's beta blocker, Betazolo. They have published several papers on the drug in the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology.

Charterhouse was heavily criticized last month for paying unemployed people and students 250 lbs or more to act as guinea pigs in the first trials of a cancer drug, which, it was feared might itself promote the growth of certain tumours.

Professor Turner told the Guardian in a statement last month that Charterhouse was an independent company. Mr Barclay, the Charterhouse chairman, explained: "It was setup by Lers (Synthelabo's research subsidiary), it was their idea, and they subscribed the initial share capital. In l981 most of their interest was transferred to the charity. It was a way of having a research facility in England for them and for other pharmaceutical companies."

Professor Turner also told the Guardian last month that "any profits" from Charterhouse went to his charity. According to the last accounts filed by Charterhouse, in l982 the firm paid 10,131 lbs "under covenant to the trustees of Synthelabo Foundation. After this payment was made, the firm recorded a profit of 40,464 lbs. In l981, Charterhouse paid 5,294 lbs to the trustees.

Mr. Barclay explained: "The taxable profits went to the charity. They are the profits upon which, if they had not been covenanted in this way, tax would have to be paid."

The charity's file at the Charity Commissioner contains only one set of accounts (for l983). They have not been audited. The trustees are required by the Commission t file accounts every year. According to the unaudited l983 accounts, the charity received 15,425 (lbs) under covenant from Charterhouse and gave St. Bartholomew's Medical College 21,206 (lbs).

The two trustees, Professor Turner and Professor Bartholini, of Synthelabo, are empowered according to the charity's records, to use the money to fund research into clinical pharmacology and allied fields, for education and "for the relief of sickness" not necessarily at St. Bartholomew's. The trustees may, if they wish, invest the money.

The Guardian asked Professor Turner if he had been aware of the Searle/Synthelabo connection, and if so whether he considered it might have influenced his views on the products. He was also asked if he agreed that people in positions such as his had an ethical duty to declare their interests. He did not answer.
---------------
This is also worth a read:

Experts call for fresh ban on 'seriously flawed' artificial sweetener used in thousands of products including Coca-Cola and Pepsi over safety fears - also online HERE

  • Academics at University of Sussex claim EU assessment giving green light to aspartame was defective
  • It is a calorie-free sugar alternative and is roughly 200 times sweeter
  • Professor Erik Millstone there are legitimate safety questions and evidence of neurological harm

By SEAN POULTER CONSUMER AFFAIRS EDITOR FOR THE DAILY MAIL

PUBLISHED: 20:58 EDT, 19 July 2019 | UPDATED: 03:34 EDT, 20 July 2019
British experts have cast doubt on the safety of an artificial sweetener used in thousands of products including big brand diet soft drinks from Coca-Cola and Pepsi.

Academics at the University of Sussex claim that an EU food watchdog assessment giving a clean bill of health to aspartame, a calorie-free sugar alternative, was seriously flawed.

Professor Erik Millstone, who has been a long-time critic of the additive, argues that there are many scientific studies that raise legitimate safety questions together with circumstantial evidence of neurological harm.

British experts have cast doubt on the safety of an artificial sweetener used in thousands of products including big brand diet soft drinks from Coca-Cola and Pepsi (file photo)

As a result, he is calling for the suspension of authorisation to sell or use aspartame in the EU pending an independent investigation.

He argues that anything from 2-10 per cent of consumers suffer neurological effects, ranging from blurred vision to headaches and, in a small number of worst cases, seizures.

'I have had about 250 people come to me saying they think aspartame caused a problem,' he said.
'I would describe it as strong circumstantial evidence that they have had neurological symptoms and have eventually come to the conclusion aspartame was responsible.'

Prof Millstone has previously been criticised by the makers of aspartame, who have questioned his expertise, accused him of ignoring scientific evidence and suggested he is obsessed.

Aspartame is roughly 200 times sweeter than table sugar and has been used as a calorie-free alternative in more than 6,000 consumer foods and drinks, including Diet Coke, Coke Zero and Pepsi Max.

Aspartame is roughly 200 times sweeter than table sugar and has been used as a calorie-free alternative in more than 6,000 consumer foods and drinks, including Diet Coke, Coke Zero and Pepsi Max

It is sold worldwide under the trade names NutraSweet, Candarel and Equal.

A research paper by Prof Millstone and Dr Elisabeth Dawson details what it says are serious flaws in the way the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) assessed research on aspartame in 2013 and declared it safe.

The academics argue that – since 1974 – scientists have warned of the risks of brain damage, liver and lung cancer, and brain lesions.

They also point to an EU-funded project published in 2010, which found that pregnant women who consume a high number of fizzy drinks containing artificial sweeteners appeared to be at greater risk of having a premature baby.

The study, published in the Archives of Public Health, says an EFSA panel discounted the results of 73 studies that indicated aspartame could be harmful, but treated 84 per cent of studies providing no evidence of harm as useful and reliable.

Gavin Partington, director-general at the British Soft Drinks Association, said: 'The author of this study is a committed critic of aspartame, despite the substantial body of scientific research that undermines his claims.

According to all leading health authorities in the world, as well as Cancer Research UK and Diabetes UK, low- and no-calorie sweeteners are safe.

'A study on behalf of the UK Food Standards Agency found no negative health links related to consumption of aspartame.' (Comment from Martini:  Food Standards gave a few people a candy bar, the extent of their study.  They have been sent documented evidence against aspartame for years.  They are on the side of industry and were set up to stay away from industry after aspartame was approved in England over a business deal,  The story was in the Guardian.  Other countries rubber stamped aspartame based on the FDA approval through the political chicanery of Donald Rumsfeld.  Now called "Rumsfeld's Plague"! www.mpwhi.com)

The EFSA stood by its decision to authorise aspartame. It said: 'EFSA's opinion represents one of the most comprehensive risk assessments of aspartame undertaken.

After a review of all available scientific data and consumption information, EFSA concluded that aspartame [is] safe for human consumption at current levels of exposure.'

The International Sweeteners Association, which speaks for manufacturers, said: 'The EFSA scientific opinion on aspartame concluded that aspartame is not a safety concern.'

...
However, Asda was one of the first UK supermarkets to remove Aspartame and MSG and other noted food additives from their Asda branded products. - HERE - in fact this isn't as good as it sounds; Sucralose has replaced Aspartame for Asda products... another nasty to watch out for...
"... Asda says that under its 'no nasties' guarantee none of its 9,000 own-label food and soft drinks will contain artificial colours or flavours by the end of the year. The ban will also extend to the sweetener aspartame, and flavour enhancers such as monosodium glutamate. ..."
This from Iceland Supermarket: "From 1st October 1999, we'll make sure that only natural colours and flavours are used in the production of our own brand range." This was to extend to Aspartame...

The following news report is no longer available on the web... also, did you know that Iceland banned genetically modified ingredients in its own brand named products in 1998? HERE

Major UK Grocery Chain Bans Aspartame Over Brain Tumor Concerns
By Dominic Rushe The Sunday Times (London)
http://www.sunday-times.co.uk 10-25-99

ICELAND, the grocer, will announce this week that it is banning aspartame, the artificial sweetener better known as NutraSweet, from its own-label foods.

The move follows growing concern among consumers about a possible link between the sweetener and brain tumours. Aspartame is consumed by 250m people worldwide and has been used in low-calorie food and drinks such as Diet Coke for 20 years.

But in recent years there have been increasing fears about possible health risks. The compound has been linked to multiple sclerosis and even Gulf war syndrome.

These worries, spread on the internet, are hotly disputed by NutraSweet's owner, Monsanto, the GM (genetically modified) food giant.

Iceland will become the first national grocers' chain to impose a ban and the move will be closely watched by its larger rivals. Iceland is trying to reposition itself as a "green" grocer and has already banned other artificial colours and flavourings from its own goods.

Malcolm Walker, Iceland's chairman, was the first grocer to ban GM foods and coined the term "Frankenstein foods". The move will spark a full-scale row between the grocery chain and Monsanto.

A NutraSweet spokeswoman said: "Iceland is spreading alarm when it should be reassuring customers. The web has become a real problem [and ] there is a lot of misinformation about."

An Iceland executive said that the company will tell staff tomorrow that it will no longer supply food with aspartame under its own label and will be switching to other artificial sweeteners. The company
will continue to sell branded products that contain NutraSweet such as Diet Coke.

The grocer's executives recently held talks with the International Sweeteners Association, which represents the multi-billion-pound industry. But despite being given assurances that NutraSweet was
perfectly safe, Iceland decided to impose a ban.

King's College, London, is conducting a three-year study to establish whether there is a link between aspartame and brain tumours. Reports in America have found conflicting evidence of a link. There, 20 billion cans of soft drink are consumed each year, most containing NutraSweet.

Bill Wadsworth, Iceland's technical director,said a full-scale ban was being considered. "We are taking the matter seriously because of the weight of customer pressure we are coming under."

Monsanto is in the process of selling its sweetener division. Protests from consumers and environmental groups in Europe - many debating the issue on the internet - have hurt the company's growth prospects and its stock market value has plummeted.

Wadsworth said: "Clearly the internet is playing a major role bringing this debate to public attention."

...

In 2018 the UK Sugar Tax was implemented due to Governmental worries about the rising obesity levels - because of this we are more in danger than ever from artificial sweeteners... The UK Sugar Tax (of course those in the know understand that the rise in obesity is likely to come from the side effects of consuming artificial sweeteners like Aspartame and MSG).

The latest news- 3rd Feb 2020 - Health Minister “Confident Sugar Tax Is Working” - HERE

... These comments follow after Minister of Finance Curtis Dickson confirmed that some $5.4 million has been raised by the sugar tax since its inception in 2018, with OBA MP Michael Dunkley saying that “a well-intentioned initiative to reduce obesity has to date only resulted in a tax grab for the PLP.” ...

Sign the petition:  Ban the artificial sweetener Aspartame in ALL drinks in throughout the UK.

Sugar Tax in other countries

Making sugary drinks pay their way - Government of British Columbia takes a step forward for health - HERE

In soda tax fight, echoes of tobacco battles - HERE

A US city's short-lived 'soda tax' cut consumption and raised nearly R1 billion
According to a new study, the evidence suggests that taxes on sweetened beverages may be an effective policy tool for reducing sweetened beverage consumption. HERE,




No comments:

Post a Comment

What's your opinion?

Danger, Will Robinson!

Hi. There is a contact form on the right hand side of the blog and various information pages on the right of the blog. My blog posts: Why As...