One of the world's most common artificial sweeteners is set to be declared a possible carcinogen by the World Health Organization (WHO) next month.
Two sources told Reuters that aspartame, sometimes listed as the ingredient "sweetener (951)", will be listed as "possibly carcinogenic to humans" for the first time by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), the WHO's cancer research arm.
Drinks like Diet Coke and Pepsi Max, sugar-free chewing gum such as Wrigley's Extra, and sugar substitutes like Equal contain aspartame, among other foods and additives available in New Zealand.
The IARC ruling is intended to assess if something is a potential hazard based on published evidence, however it does not take into account how much aspartame can be safely consumed.
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Advised dosage would come from a separate WHO expert committee, the Joint WHO and Food and Agriculture Organization's Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA), alongside determinations from national regulators, such as the Ministry for Primary Industries in New Zealand.
Similar IARC rulings in the past have led to lawsuits, or have pushed manufacturers to adjust recipes and/or swap to alternatives.
Last month the WHO advised consumers to avoid non-sugar sweeteners for weight control, which was met with outcry in the global food industry.
