The International Dairy Foods Association and the National Milk Producers Federation are proposing amendments to the FDA’s existing regulatory measures governing milk production to include non-nutritive sweeteners and inexpensive sweeteners such as aspartame.

The proposed amendments to the milk standard of identity are purportedly to promote more healthy eating practices and reduce childhood obesity. Yet the dairy industry is likely also advocating low-cost sweeteners like aspartame to reduce production costs and increase profits. Aspartame is already used as a food additive in hundreds of processed foods and has been linked to several diseases. And while the substance is touted as useful for fighting weight gain and obesity, research suggests that it may actually contribute to such conditions.

Academic scientists have documented aspartame’s fundamental toxic effect. A study in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition confirms that, once ingested, the sweetener converts to methanol in the human body. It is then “converted in the body to formate, which can either be excreted or can give rise to formaldehyde, diketopiperazine (a carcinogen) and a number of other highly toxic derivatives.”

One of the longest studies addressing aspartame consumption was overseen by Arizona State University’s Professor Woodrow Monte. His 30-year research program established direct links between aspartame and heart disease, cancer, multiple sclerosis and Alzheimer’s.

Source: Charles Foerster, “Neurotoxins in Your Chocolate Milk? The Adverse Health Effects of Aspartame,” Global Research, March 3, 2013, http://www.globalresearch.ca/neurotoxins-in-your-chocolate-milk/5325038.

Student Researcher: Stephanie Lopez (Florida Atlantic University)

Faculty Evaluator: James F. Tracy (Florida Atlantic University)

Review Article with Credder