Sweet News

Approval for a sugar substitute

For anyone afflicted with a sweet tooth, Government rulings in the past decade have been decidedly sour. First the Food & Drug Administration barred cyclamates because they might bring on bladder cancer. Then after saccharin was also linked to bladder cancer, the agency proposed banning that sweetener, an action averted only by an act of Congress. Last week the FDA broke new ground, announcing its approval of a low-calorie sugar substitute called aspartame.

A go-ahead actually was granted in 1974, but was stayed pending investigation of charges that aspartame might cause brain damage and that the animal studies submitted by manufacturer G.D. Searle were flawed. The charges were dismissed. However, the FDA says that aspartame should be avoided by victims of phenylketonuria, a condition characterized by the inability to metabolize the amino acid phenylalanine, that can result in mental retardation. Aspartame contains phenylalanine and will carry a warning on the label.

Searle says there is one-tenth of a calorie in the amount of aspartame needed to match the sweetness of a teaspoon of sugar, which has 16 calories. Aspartame will be sold in tablet or granulated form to consumers next year under the brand name "Equal." Under the name "NutraSweet," it will be a food additive used in breakfast cereals, dessert mixes and powdered drinks. Searle plans to seek FDA permission soon to extend its use to carbonated soft drinks.

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