NZFSA Used in Aspartame Propaganda

10 September 2007

NZFSA Used in Aspartame Propaganda

“NZFSA is itself becoming part of the theoretical evidence.”

“The Soil & Health Association is appalled that Japanese aspartame manufacturer Ajinomoto is using statements by the New Zealand Food Safety Authority (NZFSA) in promotional material that supports poor research to medical professionals,” said spokesperson Steffan Browning. (a)

“In contrast, Environmental Health Perspectives (EHP) the peer-reviewed journal of the United States' National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences has just highlighted the Ramazzini Foundation of Oncology and Environmental Sciences cancer findings that NZFSA and Ajinomoto seek to discredit.” (b)

In ‘The Health Care Professionals Site’ on Ajinomoto’s website, subtitled ‘A resource for you and your patients for facts on aspartame.’, is the headline ‘The latest news on aspartame, New Zealand Food Safety Authority Confirms Safety of Aspartame’ followed by ‘Statement Adds to Large Body of Research Supporting Sweetener’s Use’. A further spin on a NZFSA July 5 Press Release then follows.

NZFSA’s Deputy Chief Executive had been careful in her denigrating of the important Ramazzini research by saying that the results “are not consistent with the findings of a large number of studies over many years which have been evaluated by leading food safety agencies around the world.”

However the Ajinomoto site NZFSA article says the Ramazzini Foundation ‘made false claims about the safety of aspartame.

In contrast when considering the EHP publication, the prestigious independent Ramazzini Foundation said a week ago, ”the results of this second long-term carcinogenicity bioassay not only confirm but also reinforce our first experimental demonstration of Aspartame’s multipotential carcinogenicity at a dose level close to the human ADI. Furthermore, the study demonstrates that when life-span exposure to APM begins during fetal life, its carcinogenic effects are increased.”

“Environmental Health Perspectives (EHP) is the peer-reviewed journal of the United States' National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. With an impact factor of 5.86, EHP ranks first among 132 environmental sciences journals and first among 90 public, environmental, and occupational health journals. EHP is read in over 190 countries.”

“The further spin of NZFSA’s misleading statements by aspartame manufacturer Ajinomoto to, ‘adds to large body of research,’ and ‘NZFSA Confirms Safety….’
show how NZFSA’s own July 5 statement including, ‘there is an extensive body of evidence that tells us it is a safe product,’ is self perpetuating nonsense when it relies on industry led pap itself,” said Browning. “NZFSA is itself becoming part of its own theoretical evidence.”

“NZFSA continues to claim that aspartame is one of the most studied substances in the world, yet conveniently brushes aside the fact that while all industry-funded studies do not show a problem, the overwhelming majority of independent studies do.”

“Of 166 studies felt to have relevance for questions of human safety, 74 had Nutrasweet (an aspartame brand) industry related funding and 92 were independently funded. One hundred percent of the industry funded research attested to aspartame's safety, whereas 92% of the independently funded research identified a problem.”

“In fact in July the NZFSA was again supporting the manufacturers of the toxic sweetener by trying to dumb down the important independent research at the same time as Wellingtonian Abby Cormack’s well publicised poisoning with aspartame from sugar free chewing gum.”

“Following publicity of her case and the Soil & Health supported tour with American anti-aspartame lobbyist Betty Martini, Abby Cormack has been collecting case studies of other New Zealanders who have made remarkable recoveries from debilitating conditions since stopping aspartame use. Yet NZFSA remains in denial for the sake of industry.”

“NZFSA goes further and suggests that aspartame is better for the health of the obese, which again is a fallacy. It is time that NZFSA and Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) stopped relying on industry led science or those other international agencies following the same course, look at the independent science and put New Zealanders health first. There are effective safer natural products such as stevia.”

“Soil & Health maintains its call for immediate removal of aspartame from schools as is happening in other parts of the world where the harm of aspartame is recognised,” said Browning, “Urgent warning labelling for pregnant women and children could also precede the sweeteners total market recall.”
“Soil & Health has a motto of Healthy Soil, Healthy Food, Healthy People, and promotes a diet free from synthetic additives.”

Notes:

Aspartame (951, Equal, Nutrasweet) is an artificial sweetener found in over 6000 products including diet drinks, sugar free products, dietary supplements, sports drinks and medications.

Aspartame has been linked to many health symptoms, including those expressed as ADHD, anxiety, depression, irritability, confusion, memory loss, insomnia, dizziness, migraines, cramps, abdominal pain, numbness or tingling of extremities, rashes, chronic fatigue, and sight and personality changes.

(a) http://www.aboutaspartame.com/professional/index.asp

(b) http://www.ramazzini.it/fondazione/newsDetail.asp?id=18

ENDS

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