MEMORANDUM
To: FILE
Subject: Aspartame
________________________________________________________________
Aspartame
was accidentally discovered in 1966 by a research chemist -
SG
Searle - did some original studies on mice and supposedly hid the results
because they killed the mice and created seizures in others -
They
continued to manage all the toxicology studies through ''75 - and had invested
$30 mill in production facilities - from 70 -75
Stockholders
alleging Searle had concealed information filed a class action suite. Through 78 a back and forth battle with FDA
and congress occurred. In 79, FDA
"flying in the face of huge scientific community opposition and documented
gross negligence in Searle's toxicological research"; accepted Searle's
studies and convened a Pub Board of Inquiry (PBI) to determine if in humans
aspartame would invoke retardation, brain stem damage, or tumors
etc, as was suggested - had occurred in many of the rodent population and
monkey studies conducted.
PBI - found serious safety issues (w/
aspartame ) and research ethic questions (of searle )
especially in regard to tumors and interaction with glutamate (a very
common soda and food component known as MSG) - and were recommending further
study.
However
one year later under the new Reagan administration, Searle resubmitted their
app with "new" evidence and it was accepted by the FDA and held from
congressional scrutiny by Orin Hatch and other Reagan Republicans - who also
fostered it's expanded use into children's vitamins and soft drinks less than
two years later.
Between
79 and 82 four FDA officials who took part in the aspartame approval process
left for jobs in the industrial nutrasweet community
- Senators Hatch, Heflin and Byrd reportedly received numerous campaign
contributions thereafter from Searle -
Monsanto
who owns Nutrasweet - picked up the ball and obtained
FDA approval in 84 to open up additional food markets amidst a conflagration of
innuendo and finger pointing of fudged toxicity results - many prominent
biochemists and university researchers have made some very harsh evaluations of
aspartame - including it's breakdown into methanol in carbonated drinks at
elevated temperatures above 98*F -
In 1984
the
In 1986
- 80 cases of aspartame induced seizures were reported by Dr Wurtman at MIT -
In the
1990's Monsanto made headway into
Some
researchers believe that up to 1.9 mill acute and chronic injury reports have been
made related to human consumption with up to 8 mill injuries going unreported due to misdiagnosis -
The US
Air Force's magazine "Flying Safe" and the Navy's counterpart
published articles in 1992 warning to the dangers of vertigo and seizures
if you drink diet soda in flight - apparently a result of the atmospheric
pressure gradients -
The major
biochemical exposure is the metabolites of aspartame - These include
formaldehyde ( a known carcinogen) and methanol - The impact of
the methanol/formaldehyde and their potential effect are debated because of the
low levels of aspartame consumed in a single food dose
IN 1996
continued independent research from DR's Olney, Wilcox, Kessler, and others
reported significant brain tumor findings and continue to believe that
the aspartame poising effects on the human body are cumulative
( i.e.; the longer and stronger the dose the more
pervasive and pronounced are the effects . . .)