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Aspartame is syntesized sweetener non-carbohydrat, aspartyl-phenylalanine-1-methyl ester, is metil ester from dipeptide or two amino acids, those are aspartic acid and phenylalanine essensial. It has a chemical and empirical formula of C14H18N2O5 and a molecular mass of 294. Aspartame is an artificial sweetener discovered in 1965 by a chemist named James Schlatter. At the time he was investigating new treatments for gastric ulcers and during his labwork he got some of this compound on his hand and licked it. Noticing its sweet taste and also importantly its lack of any bitter aftertaste. Aspartame’s potential was realised and its production is now a big industry. It is commonly used in diet soft drinks as a substitute for real sugar. Approximately 6000 foods and beverages worldwide use aspartame as an ingredient. Examples are fizzy drinks, chewing gum, squashes, yoghurts and table top sweeteners.
 * =INTRODUCTION =

 Aspartame has established itself as an important component in many low-calorie, sugar-free foods and beverages and is primarily responsible for the growth over the last two decades in the sugar-free market. The safety of aspartame has been affirmed by the U.S. FDA 26 times in the past 23 years. Currently, aspartame is consumed by over 200 million people around the world and is found in more than 6,000 products including carbonated soft drinks, powdered soft drinks, chewing gum, confections, gelatins, dessert mixes, puddings and fillings, frozen desserts, yogurt, tabletop sweeteners, and some pharmaceuticals such as vitamins and sugar-free cough drops. In the United States, all food ingredients, including aspartame, must be listed in the ingredient statement on the food label. Several tabletop sweeteners containing aspartame as the sweetening ingredient can be used in a wide variety of recipes. However, in some recipes requiring lengthy heating or baking, a loss of sweetness may occur; this is not a safety issue - simply the product may not be as sweet as desired. Therefore, it is best to use tabletop sweeteners with aspartame in specially designed recipes available from the manufacturers of these tabletop sweeteners. Aspartame tabletop sweeteners may also be added to some recipes at the end of heating to maintain sweetness.


 * =CHARACTERISTICS AND FUNCTION =

The expert Prof.Dr.ir. Made Astawan MS said that aspartame is sweetener with low calori with sweety level is 200 X sweeter then sugar (sucrose), because of that to reach the sugar sweet level is needed aspartame less then one percent sucrose. As another peptide, the energy that contained in aspartame is very low about 4 kCal (17 kJ) per gram to produce the sweet taste, because of that aspartame is very famous for avoiding the calori from sugar. The positive of aspartame are, it has the very low calori, it has the sweet taste like sugar, without bitter taste, it doesn’t hurt our teeth, strengthen fruity taste in foods and drinks, and it can used for people that has diabetes.
 * =THE ISSUES =

I. Brain Cancer
Aspartame does not cause cancer according to the American Cancer Society, the FDA and the National Cancer Institute. Before the 1981 FDA approval of aspartame, it was extensively evaluated in four long-term and lifetime studies in rodents which received enormous doses of aspartame, equal to the amount of aspartame in more than 1,000 cans of diet soft drink daily over a lifetime for an adult human. There was no increase in brain tumors or any other type of cancer.When aspartame is digested, the body breaks it down into its components, aspartic acid, phenylalanine and methanol, which are consumed in much greater amounts in common foods, such as milk, meat, dried beans, fruits and vegetables. The body handles the components from aspartame in the same way it handles them when derived from other foods. Aspartame does not enter the bloodstream and therefore cannot travel to essential organs including the brain. Thus, there is no physiological reason why aspartame could cause cancer.

II. Epilepsy
The Epilepsy Institute of New York and the Epilepsy Foundation of America say that aspartame is safe for use by people with epilepsy. Numerous scientific studies were done in animals and in people who were convinced that aspartame caused their seizures and in children with epilepsy. The results of these studies demonstrated that aspartame does not cause or worsen seizures. III. Headache

A carefully controlled study was done at Duke University Medical Center with people who were convinced that aspartame caused their headaches. This study, which was published in the New England Journal of Medicine, demonstrated that aspartame does not cause headaches or migraines. <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Headaches are one of the most common human complaints. Many factors can cause headaches, ranging from stress and sleep disturbances to physical illnesses. It is potentially dangerous to assume that a headache is related to aspartame, when the cause may be a serious physical or psychological condition.

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">IV.Phenylketonuria
<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Phenylketonuria (PKU) is a rare inherited disease that prevents the essential amino acid phenylalanine from being properly metabolized. (An essential amino acid is required for normal growth, development, and body functioning and must be obtained from the diet, as the body cannot make it.) Because of this, phenylalanine can accumulate in the body and cause health problems including mental retardation. In the U.S. and many other countries, routine screening for PKU is required for all newborns. In the U.S., about 1 in 15,000 babies is born with PKU. People with PKU are placed on a special diet with a severe restriction of phenylalanine from birth to adolescence or after. Women with PKU must remain on the special diet throughout pregnancy. Since individuals with PKU must consider aspartame as an additional source of phenylalanine, aspartame-containing foods must state "Phenylketonurics: Contains Phenylalanine" in the U.S.

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">V. Public Opinion
<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;"> <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">The deadly toxin Aspartame which is included in more than 6,000 food and drink products around the world is good for you according to a new government study. The Associated Press falsely labels the results as independent and omits referencing previous human studies undertaken by groups with no corporate or government ties that concluded the opposite. <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Associated perss health correspondent Marilynn Marchione seems to revel in suggesting the study is beyond reproach because it uses human subjects rather than rats. <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">"A huge federal study in people -- not rats -- takes the fizz out of arguments that the diet soda sweetener aspartame might raise the risk of cancer," smarms the article in an attempt to discredit last year's Italian study which linked aspartame to an increased risk of leukaemias and lymphomas in female lab rats "at doses very close to the acceptable daily intake for humans." <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">In putting the study in this context, the Associated Press has lied by omission. Numerous independent controlled studies (not ones conducted by corporations or government) using human subjects have concluded that aspartame is deadly. They are Camfield (1992), Elsas (1988), Gulya (1992), Koehler (1988), Kulczycki (1995), Spiers (1988), Van Den Eeden (1994), Walton (1993). Why doesn't the AP mention any of these studies? <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Why doesn't the AP mention the fact that "out of 90 independently-funded studies, 83 of them found one or more <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">problems caused by aspartame. But out of the 74 studies funded by the aspartame industry (e.g., Monsanto, G.D. Searle, ILSI, etc.), every single one of them claimed that no problems were found?" <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">The AP immediately draws the conclusion that the study was, "done by reputable researchers independent of any funding or ties to industry groups." <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">The AP cites the Center For Science in the Public Interest as praising the results of the study.CSFPI is a Rockefeller front organization that also receives funding from Ted Turner's Nuclear Threat Initiative. Its board of directors is also littered with former government henchmen, including former FDA officials. <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Having the federal government conduct studies that heavily impact profits of major corporations depending on the results and calling them independent is like Charles Manson being judged by Jeffrey Dahmer. In the 21st century of corporate fascism the two are inseparable from one another. <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">The Aspartame controversy is noted for the fact that it explicitly connects government conflicts of interest with corporations. Donald Rumsfeld became the chief executive officer of a worldwide pharmaceutical G.D. Searle & Company (later bought out by Monsanto) in 1977, 12 years after aspartame was discovered by G.D. Searle chemist James Schlatter. <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">A story by Rishi Mehta, associate commentary editor for the University of Connecticut Daily Campus newspaper, points out the following: “In 1981, after over 15 years of FDA disapproval of aspartame, Rumsfeld said in a Searle sales meeting that he would use ‘political rather than scientific means’ to finally get FDA approval. Only 20 days later, Ronald Reagan was sworn in as 40th President of the United States, appointing Rumsfeld as Special Envoy to the Middle East and Arthur Hayes Hull Jr. - a friend of Rumsfeld's - to FDA commissioner."

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">If one of the most influential members of the current administration has publicly stated that he would use political pressure to force the acceptance of aspartame would it would therefore overwhelmingly be in the interest of a federal government study to conclude that the use of aspartame was acceptable? <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Yes. <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Therefore the study is not independent and it is not credible. <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Futhermore, the FDA has been removing negative data from government studies that indicated aspartame was dangerous to humans. <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">According to consumer rights group Mission Possible, "Since its 1981 approval, the FDA has published a list of 92 symptoms of aspartame poisoning, which includes headaches, vision loss including blindness, seizures, neurological problems, cardiovascular problems and death. The FDA admits adverse reactions to aspartame comprise about 80 percent of consumer complaints it receives each year." <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Proponents of aspartame are like the idiots in the 50's who said there were no health dangers in smoking. Moves by British parlementarians and bills such as One in new mexico calling for the outright banning of aspartame in all foods should be supported and this poison-peddling industry shut down. <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; line-height: 0px; overflow: hidden;">