14 July 2023 , 15:02
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In a major review by the World Health Organisation (WHO), the common sweetener found in products such as Diet Coke and chewing gum, aspartame, has been ruled carcinogenic to humans.
The artificial sweetener has been used in various food and drink products since the 1980s, including diet drinks, chewing gum, ice cream, yoghurts, toothpaste and medications such as cough sweets and chewable vitamins. However, research on the health impacts of aspartame released yesterday, July 13, showed there was a link between consumption of the sweetener and increased cancer risk.
Experts said that while there was a "possible" cancer risk, the product can be consumed in limited quantities. The WHO's International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) confirmed in the report that aspartame was "possibly carcinogenic to humans."
There are two more serious categories used by the IARC to determine the risk of substances: "possibly carcinogenic to humans" and "carcinogenic to humans." The Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) said the acceptable daily intake would be 40mg/kg body weight - this means a person weighing 70kg would have to drink between nine and 14 cans of diet fizzy drink in order to exceed their daily safe intake.
Sweetener tablets are a common source of aspartame, as is chewing gum (Hendrik Schmidt/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images)The news prompted concern among many, who opt for diet options believing they are the healthier choice. But just what products is aspartame found in? We've broken down a full list of products containing the artificial sweetener below.
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Sweeteners
Aspartame is used in table top sweeteners, often used in place of sugar. The main brands which contain aspartame are:
- Nutrasweet
- Equal
- Sugar Twin
A person would need to consume 75 packets in a day to reach the acceptable daily intake of aspartame, with each sweetener pack being assumed as being as sweet as two teaspoons, eight grams, of sugar. However, consumers are likely to use less of these sweeteners than table sugar as it's around 200 times sweeter.
Sugar-free drinks
One of the most common uses of aspartame is in sugar-free fizzy drinks. Many brands offering "diet" or "low sugar" versions of their popular beverages will use aspartame to give the sweet taste in place of regular sugar, however, there are some "full sugar" options which contain aspartame. Fizzy drinks containing aspartame include:
- Diet Coke
- Diet Coke No Caffeine
- Diet Coke Twisted Strawberry
- Diet Coke Sublime Lime
- Coke Zero
- Coke Zero Cherry
- Coke Zero Vanilla
- Coke Zero Caffeine Free
- Oasis Summer Fruits
- Oasis Citrus Punch
- Oasis Citrus Punch Zero
- Oasis Summer Fruits Zero
- Fanta Fruit Twist
- Fanta Fruit Twist Zero
- Fanta Grape Zero
- Fanta Lemon
- Fanta Orange Zero
- Fanta Raspberry Zero
- Fanta Pineapple & Grapefruit
- Fanta Zero Sugar Strawberry & Kiwi
- Fanta Watermelon Zero
- Dr Pepper
- Dr Pepper Zero
- Sprite
- Sprite Zero
- Lilt Zero
It's not just diet drinks that contain aspartame, but it is more common in low sugar options (PA)- Powerade Berry & Tropical
- Schweppes Slimline Tonic Water
- Schweppes Slimline Bitter Lemon Tonic
- Schweppes Lemonade
- Schweppes Slimline Tonic Water with Lemon Zest
Schweppes Elderflower Slimline Tonic Water
Pepsi Max
Pepsi Max Raspberry
Pepsi Max Cherry
Pepsi Max Lime
Pepsi Max No Caffeine
Diet Pepsi
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Diet Pepsi Caffeine Free
Diet Mtn Dew
Caffeine Free Diet Mtn Dew
Mtn Dew Zero Sugar
Mtn Dew Energy Baja Blast
Mtn Dew Energy Berry Blitz
Mtn Dew Energy Cherry Lime Lift
Mtn Dew Energy Orange Breeze
Mtn Dew Energy Peach Mango Dawn
Mtn Dew Energy Pomegranate Blue Burst
Mtn Dew Energy Strawberry Melon Sharp
Mtn Dew Energy Tropical Sunrise
Mtn Dew Summer Freeze Zero Sugar
Mtn Dew Spark Zero Sugar
Mtn Dew Major Melon Zero Sugar
Mtn Dew Frost Bite Zero Sugar
Mtn Dew Pitch Black Zero Sugar
Diet Mug Root Beer
Sierra Mist Zero Sugar
Starry Zero Sugar
Tropicana Light Lemonade
Lipton Diet Green Tea Citrus
Lipton Diet Green Tea Mixed Berry
Gum, mints and sweets
Another common use for aspartame is sugar-free chewing gum and mints. Used to sweeten the flavour, while avoiding adding sugar, these are some of the main and most popular products containing the sweetener:
- 5 Gum Spearmint Rain Sugarfree
- 5 Gum Peppermint Cobalt Sugarfree Chewing Gum
- 5 Gum Wintermind Ascent Sugarfree Chewing Gum
- 5 Gum Watermelon Prism Sugarfree Chewing Gum
- 5 Gum Respawn Cool Mint Chewing Gum
- 5 Gum React Mint Sugarfree Chewing Gum
- 5 Gum Respawn Pomegranate Watermelon Chewing Gum
- 5 Gum Respawn Tropical Punch Chewing Gum
- 5 Gum RPM Mint Sugarfree Chewing Gum
- 5 Gum Strawberry Flood Sugarfree Chewing Gum
- 5 Gum Sweet Mint Sugarfree Chewing Gum
- Extra Apple Flavour Sugarfree Chewing Gum
- Extra Blueberry Flavour Sugarfree Chewing Gum
- Extra Cool Breeze Chewing Gum Sugarfree
- Extra Ice Peppermint Chewing Gum Sugarfree
- Extra Ice Spearmint Chewing Gum Sugarfree
- Extra Melon Mint Flavour Sugarfree Chewing Gum
The World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer analyzed the potential carcinogenic effects of the sweetener (Getty Images)- Extra Peppermint Chewing Gum, Sugarfree
- Extra Refreshers Bubblemint Sugarfree Chewing Gum
- Extra Refreshers Spearmint Sugarfree Chewing Gum
- Extra Refreshers Strawberry Lemon Flavour Sugarfree Chewing Gum
- Extra Refreshers Tropical Flavour Sugarfree Chewing Gum
- Extra Spearmint Chewing Gum Sugarfree
- Extra Strawberry Chewing Gum Sugarfree
- Extra Watermelon Flavour Sugarfree Chewing Gum
- Extra White Bubblemint Chewing Gum Sugarfree
- Extra White Chewing Gum Sugarfree
- Altoids Arctic Strawberry Sugarfree Mints
- Juicy Fruit Original Gum
- Life Savers Pep-O-Mint Sugar Free Mints
- Life Savers Wint-O-Green Sugar Free Mints
- Jolly Rancher Zero Sugar
- Ice Breakers Sours Watermelon Green Apple Tangerine Sugar Free Breath Mints
- Ice Breakers Cherry Limeade
- Ice Breakers Duo Strawberry Sugar Free Breath Mints
- Ice Breakers Coolmint Sugar Free Breath Mints
- Ice Breakers Pina Colada Sugar Free Breath Mints
- Ice Breakers Sour Mints Mixed Berry, Strawberry, Cherry
Cough drops
Whether you've got a sore throat or a tickle that just won't go away, if you're planning on taking a cough drop to soothe it then you might think of reaching for the sugar-free version. But these can also contain aspartame, here are some of the biggest brands:
- Ricola Cough Suppressant Throat Drops Sugar Free Swiss Herb
- Ricola Lemon Mint Sugar Free
- Halls Minis Sugar Free Menthol
- Halls Sugar Free Assorted Mint Bag
- Halls Minis Sugar Free Cherry
- Halls FSugar Free Black Cherry Flavour Drops
- Halls Relief Mountain Menthol Sugar Free Cough Drops
- Halls Defense Assorted Citrus Sugar Free Vitamin C Drops