§ Mr. BattleTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what research his Department has(a) commissioned and (b) evaluated on the health effects of the use of aspartame in food, with particular reference to epilepsy; and if he will make a statement. [13818]
§ Mr. HoramThe Department has not commissioned any research in this area.
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Tables of dmft/DMFT for five-year old, 12-year-old and 14-year-old surveys carried out for Lancashire as part of the BASCD co-ordinated surveys Mean number of dmft of five-year-olds1 in Lancashire since 1987–88 1985–86 1987–88 1989–90 1991–92 1993–94 1995–962 Blackburn, Hyndburn and Ribble 2.62 2.22 2.50 2.51 3.06 2.57 Balckpool, Wyre and Fylde 2.46 2.00 2.16 1.97 2.62 1.97 Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale 2.58 3.37 3.10 3.31 3.23 3.12 Chorley and South Ribble 2.03 1.61 1.90 1.68 1.90 2.06 Lancaster 2.52 2.41 2.75 2.71 2.79 2.53 Preston 3.83 2.05 2.43 1.92 2.68 2.83 West Lancashire 2.37 1.67 1.89 1.34 2.46 2.18 1 Deciduous teeth only. 2 Verified but not published. The Department regularly reviews new information on food chemical safety and, when appropriate seeks advice from its experts advisory committees. The Department is aware of the anecdotal reports linking aspartame with a variety of adverse effects such as epilepsy and behavioural difficulties in children. Such claims have not been substantiated in controlled studies in humans. In 1986, the Committee on Toxicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment—COT—reviewed all the available data on the possible link between aspartame and epilepsy. The COT's conclusions reaffirmed its previous advice given in 1982, that aspartame is acceptable for use in food. A further review of the safety of aspartame in food was completed by the COT in 1992, when it formulated its advice in terms of an acceptable daily intake of 0–40 mg/kg bw/day of aspartame.
In 1996, the Committee on Carcinogenicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment—COC—considered an American paper by Olney et al. which suggested that there may be a link between aspartame and brain tumours. The COC expressed strong misgivings about the quality of this report, and concluded that it did not raise any concerns with regard to the use of aspartame in the United Kingdom.