For the first time since the 1970s, Canadians are about to taste the sweetness of saccharin.
After years of discussion, Health Canada quietly decided last month to permit the sweetener in gum, pop and other non-alcoholic beverages, frozen desserts, alcoholic liqueurs, fruit spreads and other products. The news comes amid growing concern over the serious health risks of consuming too much sugar, including heart disease, stroke and premature death.
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Saccharin, like aspartame, sucralose and acesulfame potassium, is an artificial sweetener. It’s been around since the 1800s and became a popular alternative to sugar throughout the 20th century because it was less expensive and had no calories.
But the perception of saccharin changed after the publication of research suggesting saccharin could cause cancer – specifically, studies found it increased the incidence of bladder cancer in rats. Major restrictions on the sale and use of saccharin followed.
Since then, more studies have been done that question the link between saccharin and cancer. The studies have shown that the mechanism that causes bladder cancer in rats isn’t applicable to humans.
