New Mexico Legislators Demand Aspartame Withdrawal
Eleven legislators in New Mexico have asked US President GW Bush, the FDA chief Von Eschenbach and the US Health Secretary Michael Leavitt, to override and cancel the previous approval of Aspartame, a controversial artificial sweetener that was approved over the resistance of FDA scientists, as a result of the political intervention of now Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.
In their letter, the legislators reason that the sweetener's FDA approval should be rescinded, citing the tendency of aspartame to be metabolized into methanol and formaldehyde, both highly toxic to humans. Additionally, when Aspartame is heated, it turns into a brain tumor-causing agent called diketopiperazine.
A selection of products containing aspartame -
The letter from the New Mexico legislators cites a statement from 46 members of the United Kingdom Parliament, dated January 30, 2006 and drafted by Roger Williams, the Member of Parliament from Radnorshire, Wales, stating:
That this House expresses deep concern over the numerous independent toxicological studies and thousands of subjective reports attesting to the toxic effects of the artificial sweetener aspartame on human health; notes that aspartame, once patented as a biochemical warfare agent, is the synthetically produced methyl ester of a dipeptide which is readily broken down in the gut to release methanol; further notes that in naturally occurring foodstuff methanol is either not released into the body or present together with natural defence mechanisms that mitigate its toxic effects; recognises that methanol is a well known poison and is further converted into formaldehyde, a class A carcinogen according to the World Health Organisation's International Agency for Research on Cancer; accepts that severe health concerns occur from the gradual accumulation of formaldehyde in the body which cannot be excreted and that further research has shown that long term low level exposure to formaldehyde induces leukaemia and nasopharyngeal cancer in humans; acknowledges that of the 166 studies conducted on aspartame's safety deemed relevant to humans, 92 per cent. of independently sponsored studies identified one or more problems with aspartame's safety whereas industry-sponsored studies found unanimously in favour of aspartame's safety; and urges the Government to abide by the precautionary principle and make use of Statutes 13 and 16 of the 1990 Food Safety Act to remove aspartame from the permitted list of additives on the UK market.- - -
The New Mexico legislators pressed Bush to pay no heed to corporate objections and allegations that their products are "safe."
Their letter concluded by stating that: "It is unacceptable that a chemical considered in 1979 by the Pentagon for a biochemical warfare agent two years later be approved for adding to 6000 USA food products and more than 500 medications, including children's vitamins and aspirin."
In addition to Senator Gerald Ortiz y Pino, who drafted the letter, the following senators and representatives also signed:
Senator John Pinto, Chairman, Indian and Cultural Affairs
Senator Carlos Cisneros, Chairman Conservation Committee
Senator Leonard Tsosie, Member, Finance Committee
Representative Rick Miera, Chair, House Education Committee
Representative Ray Begaye, Vice Chair, Agriculture and Water Resources
Representative Bobby Gonzales, Vice Chair, House Taxation and Revenue Committee
Representative Sheryl Williams Stapleton, House Majority Whip
Representative Harriet Ruiz Chair, Enrolling and Engrossing
Representative Richard Vigil, Vice Chair, House Education Committee
Representative W.C. Williams, Member, House Education CommitteeStephen Fox at 505-983-2002 has more details.
A recent Italian study by the Ramazzini Institute of Oncology raised serious doubts about the sweetener. The study looked at the effects of aspartame on 1,800 male and female rats, using six different control doses. Aspartame administered at varying levels in feed caused a statistically significant increase of lymphomas and leukemia, malignant tumors of the kidneys in female rats and malignant tumors of peripheral and cranial nerves in male rats. Such tumors occurred even in doses well below the acceptable daily intake recommended as ‘safe’ by regulatory authorities in the EU and the US. Pressure by industry led to a European Food Safety Agency statement that consumers should not be worried.
Meanwhile, problems with aspartame are not going away. They are kept submerged by the FDA and other health authorities, which have a policy of not accepting "aspartame side effect" as a possible cause for the trouble many of the consumers of the sweetener are experiencing. The FDA's own list of aspartame side effects was removed from their site early in the game.
Industry profits clearly trump consumer health.
For more information, see:
Aspartame Toxicity Information CenterNEWS AND ARTICLES ABOUT ASPARTAME AND OTHER SO-CALLED "ARTIFICIAL SWEETENERS"
- - -
January 2008: The sponsor of this bill and ProTem President of the NM Senate has recently passed away. Here is a Stephen Fox article:Reminiscence on the passing of Senate President Ben Altamirano
posted by Sepp Hasslberger on Tuesday October 24 2006
updated on Thursday December 16 2010URL of this article:
http://www.newmediaexplorer.org/sepp/2006/10/24/new_mexico_legislators_demand_aspartame_withdrawal.htm
Related ArticlesDropping like flies: poisoned by ASPARTAME
Sudden Cardiac Death or SCD, according to the US Centers for Disease Control, is the number one killer, having ended the lives of close to half a million Americans in 1999. Sudden Cardiac Death is not a "heart attack" or myocardial infarction, caused by clogged arteries. It's an electrical problem in which the cardiac conduction system that generates the impulses regulating the heart suddenly outputs rapid or chaotic electrical impulses,... [read more]
September 26, 2003 - Sepp HasslbergerAspartame and Multiple Sclerosis - Neurosurgeon's Warning
Aspartame is a low calorie sweetener. Called a potent neurotoxin by several researchers, it is being sold as a sugar substitute for those on low calorie diets and for diabetics. If you like Coke or Pepsi "light", you certainly are at risk, but both industry and health officials deny that there is any truth to this story. Manufacturers have recently been sued in California. Trade names for Aspartame are NutraSweet,... [read more]
June 10, 2004 - Sepp HasslbergerAspartame: UK Parliamentarian Calls For Ban
According to a recent article in The Guardian, Roger Williams, a UK Member of Parliament, called for emergency action to ban the artificial sweetener Aspartame, questioning its safety. The MP said that there was "compelling and reliable evidence for this carcinogenic substance to be banned from the UK food and drinks market altogether". A second article in the same issue of The Guardian reminds us how aspartame was approved by... [read more]
December 18, 2005 - Sepp HasslbergerArtificial Sweetener Indicted - Will New Mexico Be First To Ban Aspartame?
Aspartame, the controversial artificial sweetener that was approved when Donald Rumsfeld decided to call in his political markers to override the FDA's scientific doubts, seems to be nearing the end of its 'useful' life span. Not only are consumers getting increasingly angry - once they find out what causes their ills and they get off the poison - but threatening black scientific and legislative clouds are lining the horizon as... [read more]
December 01, 2005 - Sepp HasslbergerAspartame and Vision Degradation
Here is a very interesting comment pertaining to Aspartame and vision which is discussed in Joseph G. Hattersley's brilliant article: "Avoiding Visual Degeneration". Dr. Dr Klaus-J. S e e l i g makes some astute observations on how the medical Mafia and the food giants continue to hide and prevent further research on their products in the name of profits or as he quotes the "Big Golden Harvest". In addition... [read more]
March 16, 2004 - Chris GuptaAspartame Neurotoxic: Coca Cola, Pepsi, Nutra Sweet Sued in California
The artificial sweetener aspartame, originally made and forced on the market by Monsanto Corp., is a neurotoxin and is damaging people's health, allege three separate lawsuits filed in different counties in California. Defendants in the lawsuits include Coca-cola, PepsiCo, Bayer Corp., the Dannon Company, William Wrigley Jr. Company, ConAgra Foods, Wyeth, Inc., The NutraSweet Company, and Altria Corp. (parent company of Kraft Foods and Philip Morris) and WalMart. An unexplained... [read more]
April 09, 2004 - Sepp Hasslberger
