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Expert panel suggests keeping warning on saccharin
October 31, 1997
Web posted at: 8:18 p.m. EST (0118 GMT)RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, North Carolina (CNN) -- For the past 20 years, scientists and researchers have debated whether the artificial sweetener saccharin is safe. It looks like the debate will continue.
A panel of experts assembled by the National Institutes of Health on Friday recommended not removing saccharin from a list of chemicals that may possibly cause cancer in humans. In a reflection of the extent of the enduring controversy, the panel's conclusion was by a narrow 4-to-3 margin.
"Delisting (saccharin) is going to weigh on my conscience if I'm wrong," said panel member Kim Hooper, an expert on toxic substances for the California Department of Health Services.
But a saccharin industry group that asked for the review, the Calorie Control Council, assailed the decision.
"We feel it's very unfortunate and contrary to the existing science on saccharin," said spokesman Keith Keeney.
Two earlier scientific panels recommended removing saccharin from the list.
The final decision will be up to the Food and Drug Administration.
Two decades ago, studies emerged showing that saccharin, discovered in 1879, could cause bladder cancer in rats. The low-calorie sweetener -- up to 500 times as sweet as sugar -- was widely used in diet sodas and other products.
The FDA tried to ban saccharin in 1977, but Congress intervened, requiring instead that manufacturers put a warning label on products containing saccharin. The warnings have made saccharin products less competitive in the marketplace.
Later studies found no increase in bladder cancer in people who used saccharin, and industry groups say the original study on rats isn't applicable.
"The case against saccharin still rests primarily on controversial high-dose rate studies in which the animals were fed the human equivalent of hundreds of cans of diet soft drink per day for their entire lifetime," Keeney said.
But Hooper and the three other panel members who voted not to change the saccharin warning argued that there was clear evidence of increase cancer risk among male rats fed saccharin.
They also said studies suggesting an increased risk among some categories of people, such as men who are heavy smokers, could also not be ignored.
Medical Correspondent Eugenia Halsey and Reuters contributed to this report.
Related story:
- There may be sweet news for saccharin - July 18, 1997
Related sites:
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- The Truth About Sugar & Sweeteners - background information on natural and artificial sweeteners
- US Code dealing with saccharine
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