Early questions about aspartame’s safety
As Searle prepared to put aspartame on the market, the launch promised to be even sweeter when regulators threatened to pull saccharin based on similar concerns to those that had caused cyclamate’s downfall. As Searle stock skyrocketed, the buzz over aspartame grew. Congressional testimony on the dangers of a sugary diet also stoked public demand for the new sweetener.who pointed to studies showing brain tumors, convulsions, and developmental disabilities in lab animals.
, and it began appearing on restaurant and dining room tables. And in 1983, Coca-Cola began using a saccharin-aspartame blend to sweeten its recently introduced sugar-free Diet Coke, which the company had developed with an eye to aspartame.