According to Reuters, PepsiCo does not intend to adjust its product line in response to a piece of news that the artificial sweetener aspartame was due to be classified as a suspected carcinogen.
Aspartame will be classified as “possibly carcinogenic to humans” by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), the World Health Organization’s (WHO) cancer research arm, for the first time on July 14, according to Reuters.
The chemical is one of the most extensively used artificial sweeteners in the world, appearing in everything from Coca-Cola’s Diet Coke to Mars’ Extra sugar-free chewing gum.
“We don’t have any plans to change the product portfolio relative to where we are right now with aspartame,” Johnston added.
Aspartame, developed by American scientist James Schlatter in 1965, is approximately 200 times sweeter than conventional table sugar.
According to Johnston, over 100 research on aspartame have established that it is safe as an additive.
“By far the weight of the scientific evidence suggests that aspartame is safe as an ingredient, and obviously has the benefit of being zero calories,” he continued.
PepsiCo was one of the firms that utilized the sweetener in its diet drinks in the United States but discontinued it in 2015. A year later, the firm brought it back.
“It’s probably in a few products,” Johnston said, “but it’s not a big part.”
The beverage company, which previously boosted its annual revenue and profit estimates, stated that it could quickly switch to utilizing alternative types of sweeteners if the need arose.
“The only thing to remember is that aspartame is only one sweetener. We utilize a variety of sweeteners, and to be honest, it’s very straightforward for us to switch sweeteners if it were necessary,” Johnston noted.