The sugar substitute aspartame does not seem to raise the risk of cancer, a review by European food safety experts concluded Friday.

Last year, Italian researchers said aspartame, a sweetener commonly used in diet pop, was linked to higher rates of lymphoma and leukemia in rats.

Aspartame is used as a sweetener in diet pop, chewing gum, dairy products and some medicines.
(Courtesy of European Food Safety Authority)

The Italian findings led an independent group of scientists to review research on the topic for the European Food Safety Authority.

"Our conclusion on the basis of all the evidence currently available to us is that there's no reason to revise the previously established ADI [acceptable daily intake], nor at this stage … to undertake any further extensive review of the safety of aspartame," the body's Iona Pratt told a news conference in Rome.

The ADI for aspartame in Europe is 40 milligrams per kilogram of body weight – the equivalent of consuming 80 packets of the sweetener per day.

Reviewers found aspartame did damage rat kidneys, but said this would not happen in humans.

They attributed health problems in the lab rats to chronic health conditions rather than the aspartame.

But the Italian scientist who led the rat study said he stands by the findings, noting other researchers didn't distinguish between artificial sweeteners, measure lifetime exposure, or use a comparison group of people who never use sweeteners as a control.

"How do you do a study on humans when aspartame is used in 6,000 products?" Dr. Morando Soffritti, of the Bologna-based European Ramazzini Foundation told Associated Press. "How do you find a population that has never used it?"

A spokesperson for UNESDA, an industry association representing leading pop manufacturers, welcomed the findings of the EU review.

Care should be taken to avoid confusing consumers about the findings of studies that haven't been peer reviewed, Alain Beaumont, the association's secretary-general, said.