Qualified as “potentially carcinogenic” by world health authorities, aspartame should be avoided… Here are 6 products that contain it, avoid!
You could not have missed this information: on July 13, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), which is part of the World Health Organization (WHO), declared that aspartame was “potentially carcinogenic to humans“.
This sweetener, currently widely used in the food industry, is said to promote certain cancers as well as other diseases such as multiple sclerosis, blindness, depression, anxiety, congenital malformations or even cognitive decline.
On the labels, aspartame is located behind the code E951
Problem: aspartame is everywhere (or almost). Thus, we find this synthetic additive in most ultra-processed products sold in the supermarket – from sauces in jars to fruit yogurts, from light whipped cream to breakfast cereals… In short, it is difficult to escape aspartame!
However, there is no question of panicking: despite the “warning signal” issued by the health authorities, it is currently accepted that it is safe to consume up to 40 mg of aspartame per kilogram of body weight and per day. This represents approximately 2.8 g per day for a 70 kg adult: a difficult limit to reach when you know that a can of Coca-Cola Zero® contains approximately 0.18 g of aspartame.
Do you still want to avoid aspartame in your diet? Good to know: on food labels, this sweetener is hidden behind the code E951!
Sources:
© shutterstock
2/6 –
Prepared meals
In addition to being generally too fatty, too sweet and/or too salty, prepared meals also often contain aspartame. We can for example mention industrial sauces (barbecue sauce, ketchup, mayonnaise, mustard…), industrial pizzas, dishes “in a tray”, soups in bricks or in sachets, “ready-made” sandwiches… Look at the list of ingredients before buying!
© shutterstock
3/6 –
The ICES
Especially when labeled “light” or “no added sugar”, ice creams and frozen desserts are likely to contain aspartame.
© shutterstock
4/6 –
Yogurts
0% yoghurts (whether plain or flavored) contain the most aspartame. Ditto for certain light whipped creams and dessert creams (light or not). Here again, the best reflex is to look at the composition of the product on the label.
© shutterstock
5/6 –
breakfast cereals
Most breakfast cereals (and especially those that claim to be “slim” or “light” or “low calorie”) contain aspartame.
© shutterstock
6/6 –
The canned goods
Canned or jarred fruit (fruit in syrup, etc.), canned or jarred vegetables (pickles, mushrooms, chickpeas, corn, etc.) as well as fruit and/or vegetable-based preparations (tomato sauce, pastry coulis and toppings, coconut milk, etc.) contain aspartame.