On Wednesday March 16th, 2011 ALDE MEPs Corinne Lepage (CAP 21, France) and Antonyia Parvanova (NMSP, Bulgaria) organised a hearing in the European Parliament to examine concerns about the health risks of aspartame, an artificial sweetener used in products such as some soft drinks.

This hearing brought together scientific authors of the most recent studies on the health effects of aspartame, representatives of the European Food Safety Authority, the European Commission, industry, and NGOs.

Corinne Lepage expressed her shock "by the failure to examine the subject more thoroughly, and the close links that have been established between industry, the EFSA and the Commission, each one passing the buck to the others. This attitude has meant that looking at the health effects of aspartame is no longer taken seriously. It is inadmissible that the Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI) for aspartame which was calculated in 1980 based on non-independent studies which were supplied by the manufacturer and were very questionable, still serve as the basis and that neither the EFSA, nor the Commission are willing to re-open the discussion.

For Antonyia Parvanova, "Aspartame is a substance to which millions of consumers are exposed on a daily basis.  For this reason, and even if there is only a hint of risk, the European health authorities should commit themselves proactively to the gathering of data and the supervision of complementary and independent studies, instead of being passive and waiting for additional data to come to them".

Corinne Lepage and Antonyia Parvanova demand:

 *that the toxicology data on the Admissible Daily Intake (ADI) be communicated to the scientific community and that the data be recalculated based on studies that are independent from the manufacturers, and guided according to the Good Laboratory Practice;

 *that the EFSA take position on the new studies which tend to show the toxicity of aspartame, and that they do so quickly, in a contradictory manner, and carefully avoiding all conflict of interests.

 * that in applying the principle of precaution, which is a principle of Community Law, public information be available on the uncertainties concerning health implications, and that pregnant women be informed about the potential danger to the foetus.