Low-calorie sweeteners like aspartame are safe and help people manage their weight

Sir, Your columnist’s backhanded opposition to the soft drinks industry levy is to be welcomed, but her denunciation of the use of sweeteners in food and drink products illustrates a fervent belief that flies in the face of the facts and international evidence.

Low-calorie sweeteners are safe and have been approved by all leading health authorities around the world for decades, as well as Cancer Research UK and Diabetes UK.

The “alarming new study” cited by your columnist is in fact a regurgitation of its principal author’s prior convictions regarding aspartame and the processes followed by the European Food Safety Authority, with the familiar trope of industry and lobbyists mixed in for good measure. It’s astonishing, isn’t it, that all leading health authorities reached the same conclusion about aspartame’s safety.

Indeed there are echoes of the MMR scandal in this approach to sweeteners. A relatively small but committed band of believers project a conspiracy view and reject the evidence-based consensus view of governments and health authorities across the globe.

In the process they seek to discredit the real and important efforts industry is making to help reduce sugar intake levels (down over 30% from soft drinks since 2015 [Kantar]) as part of our commitment to support efforts to tackle obesity.

A substantial body of global scientific research shows how low-calorie sweeteners can safely help people to reduce their calorie intake and manage their weight.

Gavin Partington, director general, British Soft Drinks Association