Aspartame – Memo 1 sent by Ron Bellows of AIG before sending May 3, 2004 memo.

MEMORANDUM

To: FILE
Subject: Aspartame
________________________________________________________________

Aspartame was accidentally discovered in 1966 by a research chemist –

SG Searle – did some original studies on mice and supposedly hid the results because they killed the mice and created seizures in others –

They continued to manage all the toxicology studies through ”75 – and had invested $30 mill in production facilities – from 70 -75

Stockholders alleging Searle had concealed information filed a class action suite. Through 78 a back and forth battle with FDA and congress occurred. In 79, FDA “flying in the face of huge scientific community opposition and documented gross negligence in Searle’s toxicological research”; accepted Searle’s studies and convened a Pub Board of Inquiry (PBI) to determine if in humans aspartame would invoke retardation, brain stem damage, or tumors etc, as was suggested – had occurred in many of the rodent population and monkey studies conducted.

PBI – found serious safety issues (w/ aspartame ) and research ethic questions (of searle ) especially in regard to tumors and interaction with glutamate (a very common soda and food component known as MSG) – and were recommending further study.

However one year later under the new Reagan administration, Searle resubmitted their app with “new” evidence and it was accepted by the FDA and held from congressional scrutiny by Orin Hatch and other Reagan Republicans – who also fostered it’s expanded use into children’s vitamins and soft drinks less than two years later.

Between 79 and 82 four FDA officials who took part in the aspartame approval process left for jobs in the industrial nutrasweet community – Senators Hatch, Heflin and Byrd reportedly received numerous campaign contributions thereafter from Searle –

Monsanto who owns Nutrasweet – picked up the ball and obtained FDA approval in 84 to open up additional food markets amidst a conflagration of innuendo and finger pointing of fudged toxicity results – many prominent biochemists and university researchers have made some very harsh evaluations of aspartame – including it’s breakdown into methanol in carbonated drinks at elevated temperatures above 98*F –

In 1984 the US consumed almost 7 bill pounds of nutrasweet- in 1986 the number rose to 16 bill –

In 1986 – 80 cases of aspartame induced seizures were reported by Dr Wurtman at MIT –

In the 1990’s Monsanto made headway into Latin America, Japan and China –

Some researchers believe that up to 1.9 mill acute and chronic injury reports have been made related to human consumption with up to 8 mill injuries going unreported due to misdiagnosis –

The US Air Force’s magazine “Flying Safe” and the Navy’s counterpart published articles in 1992 warning to the dangers of vertigo and seizures if you drink diet soda in flight – apparently a result of the atmospheric pressure gradients –

The major biochemical exposure is the metabolites of aspartame – These include formaldehyde ( a known carcinogen) and methanol – The impact of the methanol/formaldehyde and their potential effect are debated because of the low levels of aspartame consumed in a single food dose

IN 1996 continued independent research from DR’s Olney, Wilcox, Kessler, and others reported significant brain tumor findings and continue to believe that the aspartame poising effects on the human body are cumulative
( i.e.; the longer and stronger the dose the more pervasive and pronounced are the effects . . .)