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Science Fair
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SCIENCE FAIR This year, the Toronto Section, in order to get involved with community activities, and stimulate interest in the study of Food Science, decided to help out with the Metro Toronto Science Fair by sponsoring prizes for Food Science related projects (Chemistry, Microbiology, Preservation, etc.). The Toronto Section also supplied four judges: Ken Darley (Griffith Laboratories), Dick Maurer (Lipton's), lan Mclnnes (Retired), and Ches Myers (General Foods). A number of excellent projects relating to Food Science were presented at the Science Fair - Chromatography of Food Colours; Is Eating Hazardous to Your Health; Factors Affecting Bacterial Growth; The Fantastic Purple Cabbage Juice; The Effects of Additives on Bread Mould; ProteinCalorie Malnutrition; and Chromatography of Sugars. All showed considerable insight into their subject matter. The first prize of a book, Food Chemistry, and an allexpense paid trip to the National CIFST Conference in Toronto was a warded to Kevin Wang of De La Salle School for his project entitled "The Fantastic Purple Cabbage Juice." Kevin's project, presented along with the industrial exhibits at the Conference, fit well into the theme "T owards Tomorrow," as cabbage juice has potential as a future food colorant. The second prize of a book, Introductory Nutrition, was awarded to Rosanna Palummieri for a project on "Factors Affecting Bacterial Growth." Rosanna is a grade 10 student at Loretto Secondary School.
PROPOSAL ON ASPARTAME Editorial Note: The following article is an information letter sent to Food Manufacturers last year regarding the status of the peptide sweetener Aspartame. The requirement for a low calorie sweetener has been of high priority to the food industry since the removal of Saccharin. We hope to publish the invited comments and decision on the Aspartame petition in a future issue. F.R.V.
The Health Protection Branch has completed an evaluation of data submitted by industry in support of the safety and acceptability of the artificial sweetener, Aspartame. In conducting this review, and in developing a regulatory position on Aspartame, the Branch has taken into consideration the expressed desire of numerous Canadians, including diabetics, to have available a safe and acceptable sweetener for use in place of sugar. Extensive discussions have been held with medical and nutritional experts and other interested parties, to ensure their views were known and considered. The purpose of this letter is to summarize the current information on Aspartame used in developing the Branch's proposed regulatory position, to outline that position and to solicit comments on it. These comments will be considered in preparing a final recommendation on Aspartame to the Minister of National Health and Welfare. Present Status of Aspartame G.D. Searle and Company, Oakville, Ontario, and Chicago, Illinois, has filed a food additive submission, pursuant to the requirements of Section B.16.002 of the Food and Drug Regulations, for the use of the substance, Aspartame, as a sweetener and flavour enhancer. The use of Aspartame in a variety of manufactured foods has also received support in a companion submission filed by General Foods Ltd., Toronto, Ontario. Other food manufacturers have supported these submissions. The Canadian Soft Drink Associ-
A58! Affaires de l'Institut
ation and individual soft drink manufacturers have submitted documentation to support the use of Aspartame in beverages. In total, the Branch has been petitioned to permit the use of Aspartame in the following foods: tabletop sweeteners, beverage mixes, breakfast cereals, desserts and topping mixes, chewing gum and soft drinks. Questions raised by the U.S. Food and Drug Administra_ tion regarding some of the laboratory practices used by certain investigators involved in the toxicology studies have delayed action on this submission. The Universities Associated for Research and Education in Pathology Incorporated (UAREP), Bethesda, Maryland, was contracted to provide an independent in-depth validation of selected Aspartame studies. A number of minor errors and inconsequential discrepancies was found, but no evidence of deliberately biased results. After detailed examination of the U AREP authentication review, the Branch has concluded that the toxicity data submitted are valid. A similar conclusion has been reached by regulatory agencies in the United States and the United Kingdom. Properties of Aspartame Aspartame is the fir~t commercially available noncarbohydrate nutritive sweetening substance. It is composed of two amino acids, L-aspartic acid and L-phenylalanine, combined to form a dipeptide which is further esterified with methanol. The amino acid components of Aspartame occur naturally in proteins commonly consumed in foods. Aspartame is a white, odourless, crystalline powder with an intensely sweet taste, 180 to 200 times sweeter than sugar. It also can enhance or intensify flavours in food. It is metabolized as a protein and provides approximately four calories per gram, as does sugar. Because of its intense sweetness only small amounts need be used. Thus, it provides only about 1/180 to 1/200 of the energy of sugar at an equivalent sweetness level and its caloric contribution will be insignificant from most uses. Exposure to high cooking temperatures, for example, during frying or baking, results in the breakdown of Aspartame to its constituent amino acids as well as degradation to a substance known as diketopiperazine (DKP). This results in a loss of sweetness. Such a change also occurs, albeit to a lesser extent, in acidic foods such as soft drinks and is dependent on factors such as length and temperature of storage as well as acidity. Diketopiperazine also is found in commercially manufactured Aspartame at a level of up to 2%. Toxicology and Clinical Investigations The data on the safety of Aspartame are the most comprehensive ever received by the Health Protection Branch in support of a food additive. Aspartame and its degradation product, DKP, have been studied extensively in laboratory animals. These investigations included pharmacologic, endocrinologic, metabolic and toxicologic (acute, subacute, chronic, reproductive, teratogenic and mutagenic) studies. In addition, limited clinical investigations have been undertaken in human volunteers. Metabolic studies in man have shown that Aspartame is metabolized in the digestive tract to its constituent amino acids, L-aspartic acid and L-phenylalanine. Aspartame is metabolized in the rat, mouse, dog and monkey in a manner similar to that in humans, a finding which substantially increases confidence in extrapolation of the laboratory animal data to the human situation. Studies to assess the carcinogenic potential of Aspartame and DKP in the rat and mouse, which included a two generation "in utero" exposure study in the rat with Aspartame, J. Inst. Can. Sei. Tl'Chnol. Aliment. Vol. 13, No. 4, Octobre 1980
SCIENCE FAIR This year, the Toronto Section, in order to get involved with community activities, and stimulate interest in the study of Food Science, decided to help out with the Metro Toronto Science Fair by sponsoring prizes for Food Science related projects (Chemistry, Microbiology, Preservation, etc.). The Toronto Section also supplied four judges: Ken Darley (Griffith Laboratories), Dick Maurer (Lipton's), lan Mclnnes (Retired), and Ches Myers (General Foods). A number of excellent projects relating to Food Science were presented at the Science Fair - Chromatography of Food Colours; Is Eating Hazardous to Your Health; Factors Affecting Bacterial Growth; The Fantastic Purple Cabbage Juice; The Effects of Additives on Bread Mould; ProteinCalorie Malnutrition; and Chromatography of Sugars. All showed considerable insight into their subject matter. The first prize of a book, Food Chemistry, and an allexpense paid trip to the National CIFST Conference in Toronto was a warded to Kevin Wang of De La Salle School for his project entitled "The Fantastic Purple Cabbage Juice." Kevin's project, presented along with the industrial exhibits at the Conference, fit well into the theme "T owards Tomorrow," as cabbage juice has potential as a future food colorant. The second prize of a book, Introductory Nutrition, was awarded to Rosanna Palummieri for a project on "Factors Affecting Bacterial Growth." Rosanna is a grade 10 student at Loretto Secondary School.
PROPOSAL ON ASPARTAME Editorial Note: The following article is an information letter sent to Food Manufacturers last year regarding the status of the peptide sweetener Aspartame. The requirement for a low calorie sweetener has been of high priority to the food industry since the removal of Saccharin. We hope to publish the invited comments and decision on the Aspartame petition in a future issue. F.R.V.
The Health Protection Branch has completed an evaluation of data submitted by industry in support of the safety and acceptability of the artificial sweetener, Aspartame. In conducting this review, and in developing a regulatory position on Aspartame, the Branch has taken into consideration the expressed desire of numerous Canadians, including diabetics, to have available a safe and acceptable sweetener for use in place of sugar. Extensive discussions have been held with medical and nutritional experts and other interested parties, to ensure their views were known and considered. The purpose of this letter is to summarize the current information on Aspartame used in developing the Branch's proposed regulatory position, to outline that position and to solicit comments on it. These comments will be considered in preparing a final recommendation on Aspartame to the Minister of National Health and Welfare. Present Status of Aspartame G.D. Searle and Company, Oakville, Ontario, and Chicago, Illinois, has filed a food additive submission, pursuant to the requirements of Section B.16.002 of the Food and Drug Regulations, for the use of the substance, Aspartame, as a sweetener and flavour enhancer. The use of Aspartame in a variety of manufactured foods has also received support in a companion submission filed by General Foods Ltd., Toronto, Ontario. Other food manufacturers have supported these submissions. The Canadian Soft Drink Associ-
A58! Affaires de l'Institut
ation and individual soft drink manufacturers have submitted documentation to support the use of Aspartame in beverages. In total, the Branch has been petitioned to permit the use of Aspartame in the following foods: tabletop sweeteners, beverage mixes, breakfast cereals, desserts and topping mixes, chewing gum and soft drinks. Questions raised by the U.S. Food and Drug Administra_ tion regarding some of the laboratory practices used by certain investigators involved in the toxicology studies have delayed action on this submission. The Universities Associated for Research and Education in Pathology Incorporated (UAREP), Bethesda, Maryland, was contracted to provide an independent in-depth validation of selected Aspartame studies. A number of minor errors and inconsequential discrepancies was found, but no evidence of deliberately biased results. After detailed examination of the U AREP authentication review, the Branch has concluded that the toxicity data submitted are valid. A similar conclusion has been reached by regulatory agencies in the United States and the United Kingdom. Properties of Aspartame Aspartame is the fir~t commercially available noncarbohydrate nutritive sweetening substance. It is composed of two amino acids, L-aspartic acid and L-phenylalanine, combined to form a dipeptide which is further esterified with methanol. The amino acid components of Aspartame occur naturally in proteins commonly consumed in foods. Aspartame is a white, odourless, crystalline powder with an intensely sweet taste, 180 to 200 times sweeter than sugar. It also can enhance or intensify flavours in food. It is metabolized as a protein and provides approximately four calories per gram, as does sugar. Because of its intense sweetness only small amounts need be used. Thus, it provides only about 1/180 to 1/200 of the energy of sugar at an equivalent sweetness level and its caloric contribution will be insignificant from most uses. Exposure to high cooking temperatures, for example, during frying or baking, results in the breakdown of Aspartame to its constituent amino acids as well as degradation to a substance known as diketopiperazine (DKP). This results in a loss of sweetness. Such a change also occurs, albeit to a lesser extent, in acidic foods such as soft drinks and is dependent on factors such as length and temperature of storage as well as acidity. Diketopiperazine also is found in commercially manufactured Aspartame at a level of up to 2%. Toxicology and Clinical Investigations The data on the safety of Aspartame are the most comprehensive ever received by the Health Protection Branch in support of a food additive. Aspartame and its degradation product, DKP, have been studied extensively in laboratory animals. These investigations included pharmacologic, endocrinologic, metabolic and toxicologic (acute, subacute, chronic, reproductive, teratogenic and mutagenic) studies. In addition, limited clinical investigations have been undertaken in human volunteers. Metabolic studies in man have shown that Aspartame is metabolized in the digestive tract to its constituent amino acids, L-aspartic acid and L-phenylalanine. Aspartame is metabolized in the rat, mouse, dog and monkey in a manner similar to that in humans, a finding which substantially increases confidence in extrapolation of the laboratory animal data to the human situation. Studies to assess the carcinogenic potential of Aspartame and DKP in the rat and mouse, which included a two generation "in utero" exposure study in the rat with Aspartame, J. Inst. Can. Sei. Tl'Chnol. Aliment. Vol. 13, No. 4, Octobre 1980