Reacción a "Aspartame sweetener affects cardiovascular health of animals"

This is yet another study that must be evaluated by food safety authorities within the framework of scientific evidence - in our case, as an EU country, by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). So far, like other food safety authorities worldwide and the FAO-WHO joint committee responsible for evaluating additives, [the EFSA] considers aspartame safe within the Acceptable Daily Intake limits. In the case of the European Union, this limit is set at a maximum of 40 mg/kg body weight per person per day, under the approved conditions for certain food products. Moreover, in 2013, EFSA conducted a re-evaluation of aspartame's approval, deeming it safe, and following the WHO's position in 2023, all food safety agencies worldwide continue to uphold the same approvals and conditions for aspartame. 

As the authors themselves indicate, there is a limitation in the study: the mouse or animal model may not be relevant to humans. This limitation is similar to many studies due to physiological aspects and the adaptation of metabolic processes in humans when ingesting certain nutrients or compounds. Aspartame is composed of L-aspartic acid and L-phenylalanine (two amino acids found in much larger amounts in many foods and beverages, such as milk). Aspartic acid is a non-essential amino acid that the human body can synthesize from other amino acids, while phenylalanine is one of the eight essential amino acids that the human body cannot produce and must obtain from food. It also contains a methyl group. During digestion in humans, hydrolysis occurs in the upper part of the duodenum, breaking down aspartame. This releases the two amino acids and forms methanol (ripe fruit and legumes also contain small amounts of methanol and substances that convert into methanol during digestion), which are absorbed and enter the bloodstream. The authors themselves highlight these dietary and compound-related aspects as a limitation. 

It is essential to conduct studies in humans and place trust in food safety authorities, just as active ingredients and medications are approved by regulatory agencies. Additionally, in the EU, the approval of any additive must later be authorized by the European Commission and published in the Official Journal of the European Union. Furthermore, under Regulation 178/2002, the EC can apply the precautionary principle, which, in specific circumstances—after assessing all available information and if there is a potential risk to health and scientific uncertainty—allows for the adoption of provisional risk management measures to ensure the high level of health protection upheld by the EC, including revoking authorization. When justified, certain additives have had their authorization removed. So far, in the case of aspartame, this has never happened. 

I believe the title of the paper should be: ‘Sweetener aspartame aggravates atherosclerosis through insulin-triggered inflammation in mice.’ It is unclear why they excluded the fact that the study was conducted on mice from the title and only mentioned it as a limitation at the end of the paper.