EFSA Makes Previously Unpublished Aspartame Studies Public

As part of its risk-assessment reevaluation of the artificial sweetener aspartame, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA; Parma, Italy) has made publicly available a list of over 600 datasets being used in its evaluation. Moreover, EFSA is making public previously unpublished scientific data, including 112 original studies on aspartame that were submitted during a request for aspartame authorization in Europe in the early 1980s.

EFSA’s call for scientific data on aspartame closed on September 30. The regulatory body says it received access to a large number of both published and unpublished scientific studies and datasets. It says that to date, EFSA has not carried out a full reevaluation of the safety of aspartame. After the completion of its assessment in 2012, EFSA says that its risk assessment of aspartame will be the most comprehensive and up-to-date available.