Aspartame was discovered by James Shatter. He is a chemist at G.D Searle, which where he accidently discovered aspartame. Aspartame is a substance that is 180 times sweeter than sugar, yet it has no calories.
Of spring 1967, Searle begins to run safety test for aspartame which is necessary for FDA approval. By fall, a biochemist named Dr.Harold at the University of Wisconsin does an aspartame test on infant monkeys. Without informing the Searle company first. The test results were negative. Out of seven monkeys, one dies and the other six dies from seizures.
December 18, 1970 the Searle Company lays out a food and safety strategy for aspartame. The company thought this would give the FDA a positive point of view on the sugar. Spring 1971 a neuroscientist named Doctor John Olney, tells Searle that the aspartic acid caused holes in brains of infant mice. So far aspartame was not looking very good to anyone.
February 1973, after spending ten million dollars doing safety test for aspartame, Searle finally applies for the FDA approval. They turned in about one hundred studies to claim that aspartame is safe. On March 5, the first FDA scientist reviews the safety data sheet for aspartame and said that the information was inaccurate. For aspartame to be safe, more test had to be ran.
May 1974, Searle Company had to go to court to prove their data to be accurate. Searle attorney Jim Turner meets with the company’s representatives to discuss Drone issue with the safety data. During July, the FDA gives aspartame their first approval for use in dry food. August 1974, Jim Turner and John Olney file disagreements with the approval aspartame.
March 24, 1976 Jim and Olney’s petition leads to investigation...
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Professor Ron Walker, Emeritus Professor of Food Science, School of Biological Sciences, University of Surrey, UK.
The new epidemiological data revealed no indications of harmful effects on human reproduction parameters of either cyclamate used as food additive or of workplace exposure to cyclohexylamine.”
Scientific Committee for Foods (SCF) of the European Union
Out of the four sugars I have researched I chose sucralose. I chose this sugar because it doesn’t have a lot of side effects like saccharin, aspartame, and sodium cyclamate. Also it is used for most foods and beverages we eat so my body system would easily interact within.
Works Cited
www.chemheritage.org/discovery/media
www.latimes.com/saccharin
www.swakinturner.com
www.rense.com/aspartame
www.caloriecount.org
www.elhurst.edu.com
www.sucralose.com
www.cyclamte.org
National Academy of Sciences (U.S.). Sweeteners: Issues and Uncertainties. Washington, D.C.: National Academy of Sciences, 1975.
Aspartame, or more commonly known as NutraSweet, Equal, Spoonful and Equal Measure; was discovered purely by chance in 1965 by a chemist named James M. Schlatter, who was testing an antacid drug (Prantini; 2014). The commercial industry believed that “a wonder product” had been discovered, which stood to revolutionise the food industry as an artificial sweetener. Aspartame is an artificial sweetener which is found in many of our foods and beverages universally. Aspartame is two-hundred times sweeter than sugar and is commonly used as a tabletop sweetener, a sweetener in prepared foods, diet foods or drinks, flavored waters, chewing gum, condiments and is even found in flavoring of medicines. It is found in majority of our food products marketed for weight control (Prantini; 2014). Aspartame has a sweeter taste in comparison to sugar, and therefore less of the sweetener can be used in food products in order to achieve the same level of sweetness as if sugar was used; which results in an individual consuming fewer calories and less sugar (American Cancer Society; 2014).
“Pure Food and Drug Act 1906.” 34 U.S. Stats. 768, quoted in Medicine in the Americas, Bethesda, Maryland: National Library of Medicine, 2004. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK22116/.
was designed to avoid mislabeled food and drug products and was the start of making sure every
Chemical pollution into the environment can cause both genotypic and phenotypic changes in many organisms, including humans. More specifically, environmental pollutants like BPA can act as xenoestrogens (estrogen imitators), ultimately affecting hormonal activity and production in an organism. This alteration in activity and production can be termed as endocrine disruption. The endocrine system regulates a variety of processes responsible for growth and development, including gonadal formation and function, digestion, metabolism, sex differentiation, and embryonic development (reviewed by Flint et al., 2012). Chemicals that interfere with the function or structure of the endocrine system can be defined as endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) (US Environmental Protection Agency, 2007).
This is a very important aspect of additives in general as before its use the public should have the right to know its effects on society. So the question remains, what are the effects of sodium stearoyl lactylate on the human body? While there are few current published research on the effects of sodium stearoyl lactylate on the human body, experiments have been done in the past on rats. A study made by the World Health Organization in 1969 showed that when 20 male rats were given 5% sodium stearoyl lactylate for 28 days with 20 control on stock diet, their liver weights were slightly higher. (“Toxicological evaluation of some food colours, emulsifiers, stabilizers, anticaking agents and certain other substances") They also tested the effects of sodium stearoyl lactylate on a dog. They started out by feeding the dog SSL for one month at a level of 7.5%, then for two weeks at 12.5%, and finally for a month at 15%. (“Toxicological evaluation of some food colours, emulsifiers, stabilizers, anticaking agents and certain other substances"). When the study was completed, the results showed no changes in blood and organ weights, and the microscopic appearance of the dog's tissues remained the same. (“Toxicological evaluation of some food colours, emulsifiers, stabilizers, anticaking agents and certain other substances") This shows that the sodium stearoyl lactylate had no effect on the dog but a slight effect on rats; faintly increasing their liver weight. The reason this information can be used in order to determine whether or not it is safe for humans is because rats have a similar body structure as humans ("Why Do Scientists Prefer to Experiment on Mice and Rats? FAQ"). This study alone shows that while SSL shows no sign of damaging the body, it can somewhat increase our liver weight, which is a factor that has to be looked into. In all, according to the short term study,
The Holland Sweetener Company (HSC) is planning to enter the low-calorie, high-intensity sweetener market which is currently dominated by NutraSweet. Below we first analyze our target industry. Next we look at what kind of response should HSC expect from NutraSweet upon its entry into this market. We will also analyze few likely scenarios that could play out and we will try to estimate the likelihood of each scenario. Based on our analysis, we will give a recommendation for HSC to plan their entry into this market.
Current animal testing has been a contentious subject ever since it started off 150 years back. Although a lot of people discover animal testing inhumane and egoistic, it is a important factor to boost our understanding of medication and to improve our understanding of science. Animal testing, to some, is the way to ameliorating our level of living and preserving many lives, and therefore has many benefits. On the other hand, the negatives may not be passed, and scientists are constantly trying to decrease the damages with some methods they create in the process. Even so, to the dismay of numerous animal lovers in addition to those who are endeavoring for animal rights, animal testing will not be stopped every time soon because, for now, it is the most trustworthy form of testing that includes the safety of daily products we use more carefully than any other procedure.
During recent years, numerous newspaper and magazine articles have suggested that humans may be at risk because small amounts of well known environmental contaminants, such as dioxin, PCBs and DDT, can affect hormone levels. Hormones are produced by the endocrine system as regulators of biological function in target organs. Because hormones play a critical role in early development, toxicological effects on the endocrine system often have an impact on the reproductive system. The term endocrine disruptor is used to describe chemicals that can mimic hormones and may either enhance or counteract their effects. It has been suggested that these hormone changes can, in turn, lead to a variety of health problems including cancer, decreased fertility, and abnormalities in newborns.
The Federal Drug and Food Administration, or FDA, began in 1906 as part of the Pure Food and Drug Act. The 1906 Act was passed due to a culmination of bills passed that were focused on severe abuses in the consumer market. Laws and guidelines were created by the FDA to monitor food safety. Product manufacturing facilities are inspected to show they are in compliance with these laws and guidelines. The FDA does not, however, test to see if food is safe for human consumption. The manufacturers are responsible for testing food, and then give their results to the FDA for inspection. Unfortunately testing done on food today does not show us the long term effect of new additives and chemical compound. It may take several years for a new chemical or additive to cause side effects...
Janick. J. (2011). Center for New Crops & Plant Products - Department of Horticulture and
American Cancer Society. “Aspartame. What is Aspartame?” Learn About Cancer, Carcinogens. N.P. 17 February 2011
Samuels, Jack. "History of invention and use of MSG." Truthinlabeling.com. Truth In Labeling Campaigning, 19 Feb 1999. Web. 27 Sep 2011.
There are three main types of simple sugars to look out for; Glucose, which is produced when, starches and carbs are broken down by the digestive system, this is one of the body’s preferred sources of energy. Next is Fructose, it’s common in fruit and also packaged treats you can find in a store. When too much is consumed it can in a sense flood your bloodstream and enter your liver which processes excess sugar into fat! This is of course leads to weight gain, especially around the abdomen, where your liver is located. Last is Sucrose, most-commonly known as your table sugar that most people add to their cereals or coffee. With that these three types of sugars are the most-commonly consumed ones throughout the states. Another way to recognize there are to think, anything that ends with ‘ose’ is considered sugar. An easy way to remember it by is to think ‘ose’ is gross!