Aspartame is a possible cause of cancer in humans, a W.H.O. The agency says

The F.D.A. and the powerful beverage industry protested the new findings, and a second W.H.O. The group maintained its standard that the sweetener is generally safe.

An agency of the World Health Organization said Thursday that aspartame, a artificial sweetener widely used in diet drinks and low-sugar foods, could possibly cause cancer.

A second W.H.O. The committee, however, remained stable on its assessment of a safe level of aspartame consumption. According to some calculations using the panel standard, a person weighing 150 pounds could avoid a risk of cancer while drinking about a dozen cans of diet soda a day.

The statement of a W.H.O. The agency's cancer risk from aspartame reflects the first time the prominent international body has weighed in publicly on the effects of the nearly ubiquitous artificial sweetener. Aspartame has been a controversial ingredient for decades.

The International Agency for Research on Cancer, or I.A.R.C., said it based its conclusion that aspartame was a possible carcinogen on limited evidence from three observational human studies which the agency says have linked the consumption of artificially sweetened beverages to increased cases of liver cancer - to levels well below a dozen cans per day. He warned that the results could potentially be skewed towards the profile of people who drink higher amounts of diet drinks and called for further study.

Still, people who consume large amounts of aspartame should consider switching to water or other unsweetened beverages, said Dr. Francesco Branca, director of the W.H.O. Department of Nutrition and Food Safety.

But, he added: "Our results do not indicate that occasional consumption should present a risk for the most part."

Concerns over rising global rates of obesity and diabetes as well as changing consumer preferences have led to an explosion of sugar-free and low-sugar foods and beverages. Aspartame, one of six sweeteners approved by US regulators, is found in thousands of products, from packets of Equal to sugar-free gum, diet sodas, teas, energy drinks and even yogurts. It is also used to sweeten various pharmaceuticals.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which approved aspartame decades ago, released Thursday an unusual critique of the global agency's findings and reiterated its long-held position that the sweetener is safe. In a statement, the F.D.A. stated that it "disagrees with the I.A.R.C.'s conclusion that these studies support the classification of aspartame as a possible human carcinogen."

The F.D.A. also stated that "Aspartame being labeled by the W.H.O. as 'possibly carcinogenic to humans' does not mean that aspartame is actually linked to cancer. The F.D.A. declined to put any of its experts to provision for interviews to discuss the agency's specific concerns.

But his salvo against the international organization was sure to spark new debates in Europe - where the l sweetener is still considered safe - and renewing review in the U.S. And statements from dueling global agencies are likely to fuel consumer confusion.

The W.HO. has at times been at odds with other authorities on potential cancer risks, such as glyphosate, and then led the way in establishing its dangerousness to human health. international body of a carcinogenic link with this ingredient of Roundup, a weed killer, has become the springboard for lawsuits against the manufacturers of the herbicide.

All over the world world, the powerful beverage industry has fought long and hard against any regulatory or scientific finding that linked the use of artificial sweeteners to the risk of cancer or other health problems. Aspartame is just the latest battleground for multinational corporations to fend off new studies or potential links to health risks.

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