The World Health Organization (WHO) announced that popular artificial sweetener aspartame may be declared as a “possible carcinogen” through a June 29 exclusive through Reuters.

In July, WHO’s cancer research division, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), will officially announce aspartame as possibly carcinogenic to humans. The ruling does not consider what, if any, levels of the chemical can be safely consumed. Safe intake levels will be determined by the Joint Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JEFCA), alongside global authorities.

JEFCA undergoing a review of aspartame, and the group’s findings will be published on the same day as IARC makes its decision public, on July 14, 2023.

Update, July 14, 2023: IARC has officially announced aspartame as a "possible carcinogen," and JEFCA has reaffirmed the current tolerable daily intake of the chemical, leaving it unchanged. Industry groups and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration have expressed their dissent with IARC's decision. Read the full story here.