EFSA panel says advantame is safe for use

31-Jul-2013 - Last updated on 01-Aug-2013 at 09:34 GMT

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Advantame may extend sweetness duration in chewing gum, according to its developer

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has concluded that aspartame-derived sweetener advantame is safe for human consumption.

The sweetener and flavour enhancer has been developed by Ajinomoto and is reportedly 37,000 times sweeter than sugar. It is derived from aspartame and vanillin, with a sweet taste similar to aspartame but with a slightly longer sweetness duration.

EFSA noted that advantame is stable under normal storage conditions, but that there is some instability in acidic beverages and heat-treated foods.

The ingredient and its main metabolite have been tested in mice, rats, rabbits, dogs and humans, and have been found to be poorly absorbed by the body.

The panel concluded that advantame is not of concern with regards to genotoxicity and carcinogencity. The only critical effect observed in animal studies was gastrointestinal disturbance in one prenatal study in rabbits. The no observed adverse effect level (NOAEL) for this effect was 500 mg of advantame per kilogram of bodyweight per day.

Based on this finding, the panel built in a 100-fold uncertainty factor when setting maximum consumption levels for humans, and established an acceptable daily intake (ADI) of 5 mg per kilogram of bodyweight per day.

“Conservative estimates of advantame exposure for high level adults and children consumers were below the ADI for the proposed use levels,”it said.“…Advantame was well tolerated in single or repeated doses up to 0.5 mg/kg bw/day by normo-glycemic or diabetic subjects.”

Ajinomoto says that advantame can also be used to enhance flavours like dairy, fruit, citrus and mint, can be used to extend sweetness duration in chewing gum and improve the sweetness profile of confectionery products.

2 comments

methanol from any source becomes formaldehyde inside human cells -- WC Monte paradigm

Posted by Rich Murray, 02 August 2013 - 06:46 GMT

How much methanol does advantame release into the blood from the human GI tract?

Aspartame is 11% methanol (wood alcohol), which travels in the blood, diminishing by half every 3 hours, going easily into all cells in the body and fetus, and being made by ADH1 enzyme into free floating formaldehyde right inside cells of 20 specific human tissues, starting over 20 specific diseases, including atherosclerosis, Alzheimers, arthritis, diabetes 2, multiple sclerosis, many later cancers, and birth defects autism, spina bifida, and Fetal Alcohol Syndrome.

Prof. Woodrow C. Monte, Food Science and Nutrition, Arizona State University, retired 2004, since 2007 gives a free online archive of 786 full text medical research references at his site WhileScienceSleeps dot com ...

Major sources of methanol include smoke from cigarettes, wood, and peat; smoked foods; fresh tomatoes; and unfresh fruits juices and vegetables preserved wet in sealed cans and jars.

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Kate S. Collision data show aspartame ADI should be reduced 1,000 times

Posted by Rich Murray, 01 August 2013 - 21:27 GMT

Kate S. Collison et al show prediabetic harm in gene expression in mice fed
lifetime aspartame, MSG, trans fats -- reduce human aspartame ADI 1000 times: Rich Murray 2013.07.30

http://rmforall.blogspot.com/2013/07/kate-s-collison-et-al-show-prediabetic.html

[ Rich Murray: Since the 11 % methanol part of aspartame, which circulates with half-life 3 hours in the blood flow to readily enter all cells, is quickly made into uncontrolled, free floating formaldehyde right inside the cells of 20 human tissues with high levels of ADH1 enzyme, there is need to measure ADH1 levels in all mice tissues, and use C-13 or C-14 labeled methanol to show any durable toxic formaldehyde products within cells, and to survey vulnerable tissues for impaired and expired cells. Formaldehyde is a potent genetic methylation agent, which may cause some of the observed differentially expressed genes (DEGs). The last part of this post
introduces the Woodrow C. Monte methanol formaldehyde toxicity paradigm. ]

"Mean aspartame (ASP) and monosodium glutamate (MSG) consumption in the
drinking water was

43.54 ± 1.42 mg/Kg body weight and 130.03 ± 5.61 mg/Kg body weight respectively."

[ The current USA human ADI for aspartame is 50 mg/Kg body weight, while the mice had harm at 87 % of that level -- however mice are about 10 to 100 times less vulnerable to methanol than humans.

If we follow the standard protocol of dividing the amount that causes harm
in mice by 1,000 to set a human lifetime ADI, then it would drop to 0.044 mg/Kg body weight, 3.1 mg for a 70 Kg human, as much as in 1.6 % of a can diet drink with 200 mg aspartame -- reducing the human aspartame ADI to 0.09 % of its current USA ADI -- a huge reduction below the low levels suggested by many other studies -- see the links below in my introduction
to methanol formaldehyde toxicity in humans. ]

http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2164/12/555 free full text ]

http://www.nutritionandmetabolism.com/content/pdf/1743-7075-10-44.pdf

free full text 31 pages

Nutr Metab (Lond). 2013 Jun 19;10(1):44. [Epub ahead of print]

Prediabetic changes in gene expression induced by aspartame and monosodium
glutamate in Trans fat-fed C57Bl/6 J mice.

Collison KS, Makhoul NJ, Zaidi MZ, Inglis A, Andres BL, Ubungen R, Saleh S,
Al-Mohanna FA.

[ See also:

aspartame impairment of spatial cognition and insulin sensitivity in mice, focus on phenylalanine and aspartate [ methanol also crosses placenta into fetus, turning into teratogenic formaldehyde], Kate S. Collison et al, PLoS One 2012.04.03: Rich Murray 2012.04.29
http://rmforall.blogspot.com/2012/04/aspartame-impairment-of-spatial.html