The research on saccharin is a complex bailiwick. Forty years of work of studies on rats, mice, rabbits, primates and humans have provided a conflicting picture. Fortunately, sufficient time has passed since the cancer scare of the 1970s so we can evaluate the information more dispassionately. While the initial warnings by the Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, in the 1970s made sense based upon the information that was available at the time, new information suggests that these fears were overblown.
Chemistry
Sodium saccharin, also known as saccharin, has 300 times the sweetening power of sugar. According to "Discovery Magazine," it was invented at Johns Hopkins University by chemists who were experimenting with coal tar in the late 1880s. The sodium and saccharin components of this molecule separate when this compound is dissolved in water. Prior to this separation, the molecule has a molecular weight of 241.19. With a melting point of approximately 230 degrees Celsius, it holds up well when exposed to high temperatures, which makes it useful for cooking and baking.
Animal Studies
In the 1970s, a number of conflicting studies in animals suggested that saccharine might be induce bladder cancer. The practices in many of these studies did not comport with human use of saccharine. For example, one study published in the May 4, 1970, issue of "Science" found bladder cancer rates increased when pellets of saccharin were implanted in tissues. Eventually, studies such as the one appearing in the 1996 journal "Pharmacology and Therapeutics" suggested that concerns about the carcinogenicity of saccharin might be misplaced because they showed tumor formation only occurred under extraordinary conditions and only in males. These studies had little relevance to findings in humans.
Human Studies
A 1985 article appearing in the "Journal of the American Medical Association" analyzed all available animal and human studies. It concluded a small number of animals studies had merit. However, since human studies didn't suggest that there might be a risk, the authors concluded there was no reason to ban saccharine. A subsequent article appearing in the 2004 "Annals of Oncology" echoed this conclusion, saying "epidemiological studies in humans did not find the bladder cancer-inducing effects of saccharin and cyclamate that had been reported from animal studies in rats."
Regulations
Although the World Health Organization originally classified saccharin as "possibly carcinogenic to humans," it recategorized this compound as "not classifiable as to its carcinogenicity to humans." The FDA went somewhat further and declared saccharin safe for consumption in 2001. The EPA changed its regulations and removed saccharine from its "List of Hazardous Constituents and Hazardous Wastes" and "List of Hazardous Substances" in 2010.
References
- World Health Organization; Agents Classified by the IARC Monographs, Volumes 1--101; April, 2011
- Occupational Safety and Health; Saccharin October 2005
- "Journal of the National Cancer Institute"; Long-Term Saccharin on Primates; S. Takayama et al.; January 1998
- "Journal of the American Medical Association"; Saccharin. Review of Safety Issues. Council on Scientific Affairs; November 1985
- "Discover Magazine"; The Chemistry of . . . Artificial Sweeteners; Jocelyn Selim; August, 2005
- Physical & Theoretical Chemistry Lab; Material Safety Data Sheet -- Safety Data for Saccharin; August 2009
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