Send to a friend

United States Food and Drug Administration

On November 21, 1986 the Food and Drug Administration said: "The data and information supporting the safety of aspartame are extensive. It is likely that no food product has ever been so closely examined for safety. Moreover, the decisions of the agency to approve aspartame for its uses have been given the fullest airing that the legal process requires.

"Few compounds have withstood such detailed testing and repeated, close scrutiny, and the process through which aspartame has gone should provide the public with additional confidence of its safety."

On November 3, 1987, FDA Commissioner Frank Young presented oral testimony before the Committee on Labor and Human Resources of the U.S. Senate. The Commissioner's summed-up the FDA's position on aspartame with these concluding remarks: "... In conclusion, we do not have any medical or scientific evidence that undermines our confidence in the safety of aspartame. This confidence is based on years of study, analysis of adverse reactions, and research in the scientific community, including studies supported by FDA. Otherwise we would have expected to see a significant incidence of serious adverse reactions in view of the tens of millions of our population who consume aspartame products. A significant number of adverse reactions have not been reported, however, despite the enormous publicity that such alleged adverse effects have received in our media ..."