Claim from the United States: Saccharin can cause cancer

In September 1974: In the United States, a fierce debate has arisen about the artificial sweetener saccharin. According to some researchers, it has caused cancer in laboratory animals.

US health authorities say they will have their final say in the fall on whether to ban the use of saccharin in the food industry or not.

On the other hand, in Finland — as elsewhere in Europe — the health authorities have watched the Americans’ saccharin debate from the sidelines.

Uproar is thought to be possibly due to an internal struggle in the local sweetener industry. Saccharin is, along with cyclamate, the most used artificial sweetener.

In 1972, the United States removed saccharin from its list of unrestricted additives and ordered that a person could consume no more than one gram of saccharin per day.

This means either seven bottles of artificially sweetened soft drinks or 60 tablets of, for example, a sweetener mixed with coffee. – –

On the other hand, there are no restrictions of any kind on the use of saccharin in Finland. Even the annual amount of its use is not known in the medical board any better than in the business board or the food industry association. – –