Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will ask the Food Standards Agency to conduct a detailed examination of the safety of aspartame, following research done by Professor Millstone and Dr Dawson.

As an independent Government department, the Food Standards Agency (FSA) keeps under review the evolving body of credible scientific evidence on the safety of all food additives including aspartame and advises the Government if any action is needed.

The FSA is aware of both the paper written by Professor Millstone and Dr Dawson criticising the European Food Safety Authority’s (EFSA) assessment of the safety of aspartame, and the response issued by EFSA. The FSA does not consider that any action in relation to the safety of aspartame is needed at the present time.