Aspartame has been renamed and is now being
marketed as a natural sweetener
In response to growing awareness about the
dangers of artificial sweeteners, what does the manufacturer of one of the world's most
notable artificial sweeteners do? Why, rename it and begin marketing it as natural, of
course. This is precisely the strategy of Ajinomoto, maker of aspartame, which hopes to
pull the wool over the eyes of the public with its rebranded version of aspartame, called
"AminoSweet".
Over 25 years ago, aspartame was first introduced into the European food supply. Today, it
is an everyday component of most diet beverages, sugar-free desserts, and chewing gums in
countries worldwide. But the tides have been turning as the general public is waking up to
the truth about artificial sweeteners like aspartame and the harm they cause to health.
The latest aspartame marketing scheme is a desperate effort to indoctrinate the public
into accepting the chemical sweetener as natural and safe, despite evidence to the
contrary.
Aspartame was an accidental discovery by James Schlatter, a chemist who had been trying to
produce an anti-ulcer pharmaceutical drug for G.D. Searle & Company back in 1965. Upon
mixing aspartic acid and phenylalanine, two naturally-occurring amino acids, he discovered
that the new compound had a sweet taste. The company merely changed its FDA approval
application from drug to food additive and, voila, aspartame was born.
G.D. Searle & Company first patented aspartame in 1970. An internal memo released in
the same year urged company executives to work on getting the FDA into the "habit of
saying yes" and of encouraging a "subconscious spirit of participation" in
getting the chemical approved.
G.D. Searle & Company submitted its first petition to the FDA in 1973 and fought for
years to gain FDA approval, submitting its own safety studies that many believed were
inadequate and deceptive. Despite numerous objections, including one from its own
scientists, the company was able to convince the FDA to approve aspartame for commercial
use in a few products in 1974, igniting a blaze of controversy.
In 1976, then FDA Commissioner Alexander Schmidt wrote a letter to Sen. Ted Kennedy
expressing concern over the "questionable integrity of the basic safety data
submitted for aspartame safety". FDA Chief Counsel Richard Merrill believed that a
grand jury should investigate G.D. Searle & Company for lying about the safety of
aspartame in its reports and for concealing evidence proving the chemical is unsafe for
consumption.
Despite the myriad of evidence gained over the years showing that aspartame is a dangerous
toxin, it has remained on the global market with the exception of a few countries that
have banned it. In fact, it continued to gain approval for use in new types of food
despite evidence showing that it causes neurological brain damage, cancerous tumors, and
endocrine disruption, among other things.
The details of aspartame's history are lengthy, but the point remains that the carcinogen
was illegitimately approved as a food additive through heavy-handed prodding by a powerful
corporation with its own interests in mind. Practically all drugs and food additives are
approved by the FDA not because science shows they are safe but because companies
essentially lobby the FDA with monetary payoffs and complete the agency's multi-million
dollar approval process.
Changing aspartame's name to something that is "appealing and memorable", in
Ajinomoto's own words, may hoodwink some but hopefully most will reject this clever
marketing tactic as nothing more than a desperate attempt to preserve the company's
multi-billion dollar cash cow. Do not be deceived. (Natural News,
2.12.2010, Ethan Huff, citizen journalist) http://www.naturalnews.com/z028151_aspartame_sweeteners.html
