Aspartame Is a Possible Cause of Cancer in Humans， a W.H.O. Agency Says
一家世衛組織下屬機構表示，阿斯巴甜可能致癌
By Christina Jewett
A World Health Organization agency declared on Thursday that aspartame， an artificial sweetener widely used in diet drinks and low-sugar foods， could possibly cause cancer.
上周四（當地時間7月13日），一家世界衛生組織下屬機構宣布，廣泛用于無糖飲料和低糖食品中的人工甜味劑阿斯巴甜可能致癌。
The declaration by a W.H.O. agency of a cancer risk associated with aspartame reflects the first time the prominent international body has weighed in publicly on the effects of the nearly ubiquitous artificial sweetener.
這家世衛組織下屬機構就“阿斯巴甜的致癌風險”發表聲明，標志著這家知名國際機構首次對這種幾乎無處不在的人工甜味劑所帶來的影響公開發表意見。
Concerns about rising global rates of obesity and diabetes as well as changing consumer preferences have resulted in an explosion of no- and low-sugar food and beverages. Around the world， the powerful beverage industry has fought long and hard against any regulatory or scientific finding that tied artificial sweetener use to risks of cancer or other health problems. Aspartame is only the latest battleground for multinational companies to push back against new studies or potential links to health risks.
對于全球肥胖癥和糖尿病患病率上升的擔憂，以及不斷變化的消費者偏好，使得無糖、低糖食品和飲料出現爆炸式增長。從全球范圍來看，龐大的飲料行業長期以來一直堅決反對，任何一項監管條款或科研發現將人工甜味劑與致癌風險及其他健康問題聯系到一起。阿斯巴甜只不過是眾多跨國公司抵制相關新研究及其與健康風險潛在關聯的最新戰場而已。
“Aspartame is safe，“ Kevin Keane， interim president of the American Beverage Association， said in a statement. He cited the dueling W.H.O. announcements， singling out the second panel， the Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives， that performed a concurrent review and left its recommended daily intake amount unchanged. It also deemed the evidence for cancer in humans “not convincing，“ a W.H.O. summary shows.
美國飲料協會臨時主席凱文·基恩（Kevin Keane）在一份聲明中說道：“阿斯巴甜是安全的。”他引述了兩份同樣來自世衛組織卻相互矛盾的聲明，特別指出第二個專家組“食品添加劑聯合專家委員會”（Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives）也同時進行了調研，并維持原有的每日建議攝入量不變。而且，一份世衛組織摘要也表示，上述研究顯示阿斯巴甜致癌的證據“缺乏說服力”。
The American Beverage Association， which represents Coca-Cola and PepsiCo， has been vocal in saying that the W.H.O.'s food additive panel— not the cancer experts— should be the lead authority evaluating aspartame.
美國飲料協會代表著可口可樂和百事可樂兩大飲料品牌的利益，該協會直言不諱，評估阿斯巴甜安全性的主導權威機構應該是世衛組織的食品添加劑團隊，而非癌癥專家們。