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  • Letter to the Editor
  • Published:

Addressing comments by JD Fernstrom

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition volume 63, pages 695–698 (2009)Cite this article

The issue of aspartame safety has been controversial since approval by FDA, many years ago. It seems as if there are two points of views, either supporting the use of aspartame, or suggesting its dangers. Numerous research articles raised concerns regarding the adverse effects and particularly related to the metabolic components. The comments of JD Fernstrom will now be addressed in Box 1.

Table 1 Box 1
Full size table

From the comments made by JD Fernstrom, it appears that he does not trust research suggesting that aspartame may be detrimental to human health. We believe that there are numerous well-researched papers by key researchers that prove the negative effects of this sweetener. Can we as researchers really take the responsibility of the health of millions of consumers by ignoring research? Can we sit back and close our eyes to even one paper that suggests that a product may influence the health of innocent consumers and unborn babies? What if it is indeed true that the health of only one person is negatively influenced by aspartame consumption? Is it not our responsibility as researchers to prevent this? Millions of people use this product, not necessarily at abuse doses, but every day of their lives, Dr Fernstrom what if….

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  1. Department of Anatomy, University of Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa

    P Humphries & E Pretorius

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  1. P Humphries
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  2. E Pretorius
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Correspondence to E Pretorius.

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Humphries, P., Pretorius, E. Addressing comments by JD Fernstrom. Eur J Clin Nutr 63, 695–698 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1038/ejcn.2008.4

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