The artificial sweetener sucralose (sold under the brand name Splenda) could potentially pose health risks, so it needs to be better understood before the sweetener should be assumed to be safe, one advocacy organization says.
The Center for Science in the Public Interest, a nonprofit watchdog group, said today that it was downgrading its safety rating of sucralose from “safe” to “caution,” meaning that the additive “may pose a risk and needs to be better tested.”
The change was spurred by a recent study from researchers in Italy that found that sucralose caused leukemia in mice, according to the CSPI. This study has not been published, and needs to be reviewed by other scientists to determine whether the findings are credible.
While sucralose may turn out to be safer than other artificial sweeteners, “the forthcoming Italian study warrants careful scrutiny before we can be confident that the sweetener is safe for use in food,” said CSPI executive director Michael F. Jacobson.
The CSPI recommends people avoid the artificial sweeteners saccharin (Sweet ‘N Low), aspartame (NutraSweet and Equal), and acesulfame potassium (Sunett and Sweet One).
The issue of whether artificial sweeteners pose health risks is controversial. Many of the studies showing risks, including the new Italian study, have been done in animals, and it’s not known whether the same effects would be seen in humans.
Even the CSPI says that it considers drinking diet soda, which often contains artificial sweeteners, to be safer than drinking regular soda. Regular soda “poses the greater and demonstrable risks of obesity, diabetes, heart disease, gout, tooth decay, and other health problems,” the CSPI said in a statement.
To avoid both the risks of sugar and artificial sweeteners, the CSPI recommends drinking water, seltzer water, flavored unsweetened waters, seltzer mixed with some fruit juice or unsweetened iced tea.
It’s worth noting that the CSPI also gives caffeine a safety rating of “caution.” Caffeine “keeps many people from sleeping, causes jitteriness, and affects calcium metabolism,” the CSPI says.
Peggy Ballman
June 18, 2013
It’s important for consumers to know they can continue to use sucralose safely and that there has been no change in its well-established safety profile.
The comments made by the CSPI were based on pending data from an Italian research lab. That data has not been published and, to our knowledge, has not been peer reviewed, which is a critical step in validating research. Previous studies from this lab have been questioned by international food safety authorities, partly because the researchers did not follow accepted standards for assessing safety.
In contrast, more than 110 studies conducted over 20 years have proven the safety of sucralose, the sweetening ingredient in SPLENDA® Sweeteners. Worldwide authorities, including the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the European Food Safety Authority, Health Canada, and the World Health Organization, have reviewed these studies and confirm that results show no link between sucralose and any form of cancer. The National Cancer Institute (NCI) and the American Cancer Society (ACS) are among numerous health organizations that support this conclusion.
SPLENDA® Sweeteners have been enjoyed safely by millions of people around the world and are an excellent tool for people looking to reduce added sugar in their diet. The American Diabetes Association and the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics both support that sucralose can be a useful tool in managing weight and diabetes. We encourage any consumers with questions about using SPLENDA® Sweeteners to speak with their healthcare professional. — The SPLENDA Team