Non-sugar sweeteners: Beverage lobby disagrees with WHO's non-sugar sweeteners observation

A gorup of beverage companies that include, Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Red Bull, Dabur and Tetra Pak among others, has disagreed with WHO's observation on non-sugar sweeteners, calling it not scientifically rigorous. The World Health Organisation had said that non-sugar sweeteners such as aspartame and stevia do not help in weight loss, while increasing risk of certain diseases.

After this, health groups have called for a 'restrictive use only' messages on all food and drinks with artifical sweeteners. "It is a disservice to public health to not recognise the role of low or no-calorie sweeteners in reducing sugar intake" amid a global obesity crisis. "IBA has been engaging with concerned authorities in the country to seek their alignment for a favourable policy regime in this regard," a senior Indian Beverage Association (IBA) executive told The Economic Times.

The industry body would join others, including relevant government agencies who have responded to the public consultation on the draft guidelines, expressing their concerns about the conclusions and rationale used by WHO.

WHO has said that its conditional recommendations and guidelines on non-sugar sweeteners are based on available evidence. "Replacing free sugars with non-sugar sweeteners does not help with weight control in the long term," Francesco Branca, WHO director for nutrition and food safety, had said in a detailed statement, adding that such sweeteners "are not essential dietary factors and have no nutritional value."

Meanwhile, the National Food regulator, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India has said that a scientific panel is evaluating the recommendations of WHO. Industry experts also believe that bringing guidelines and labelling changes could dent the sales of diet foods.