The Skinny on Fat and Sugar Substitutes

When the U.S. Food and Drug Administration drops warning statements for food additives - as they did with the fake fat Olestra - consumers are often left wondering: Are the substances really safe to eat?

Ever since Olestra came on the market in 1996, products containing it have been required to carry a label advising of possible abdominal cramps and loose stools, among other side effects. But now the FDA said that's no longer necessary.

Saccharin, reported to cause cancer in lab rats in large doses, hasn't had to carry a warning statement for the past three years. Aspartame, an artificial sweetener that has prompted cancer concerns in the past, has never had a warning to that effect. Mycoprotein, a fungus used in a meat substitute that some consumers say causes gastrointestinal problems, is sold without a caveat too.

In the battle between public health advocates who want strict restrictions, and the food industry that doesn't much of the research on which the FDA based its decisions are funded by companies that sell the products.

In the case of Olestra, the FDA says it was convinced to drop the warning requirement by extensive studies done by Procter & Gamble Co., which makes Olestra branded Olean, used in Frito-Lay's WOW Chips. When Olestra was first approved the main study on it had participants eating it three meals a day for eight weeks. What changed the FDA's mind was a six-week double blind (meaning participants didn't know whether they were eating the substance), a placebo-controlled study of 3,000 people. It found "mild and infrequent" side effects, according to the agency's office of food-additive safety.

Here is a look at other popular additives contained in numerous products:

Sucralose:

This is one of the newest and the least controversial artificial sweeteners. The FDA approved sucralose in 1998 based on more than 100 human and animal studies that tested possible carcinogenic, reproductive and neurological effects. Studies giving rats and mice the equivalent of at least 1,500 soft drinks containing sucralose a day found no cancer-causing effects, and clinical studies found sucralose caused no physical or biochemical changes in humans. Marketed under the brand name Splenda by McNeil Nutritionals, a division of Johnson & Johnson's McNeil-PPC Inc, the product is the top selling artificial sweetener in the retail sugar-substitutes market. Atkins Nutritionals based in Ronkonkoma, New York, chose sucralose for its Enduldge chocolate bars after reviewing other sugar substitutes and finding lingering questions over their safety.

Sugar Alcohol:

Sugar-free products containing sugar alcohol such as sorbitol, mannitol and lactitol can cause diarrhea and other gastrointestinal side effects. The FDA requires products containing 50 grams or more of sorbitol or 20 grams or more of mannitol to carry the statement. "Excess consumption may have a laxative effect." Few, if any, commercial products contain such large amounts. Lactotol has no warning requirements, but Hershey Foods Corp., which introduced a line of chocolate containing lacticol this year, voluntarily included a warning about possible laxative effects.

Saccharin:

After a Canadian study in 1977 connected saccharin to bladder cancer in lab rats, the FDA proposed a ban, which was blocked by Congress. Instead, Congress voted to require saccharin-containing products to carry the statement, "Use of this product may be hazardous to your health. This product contains saccharin, which has been determined to cause cancer in laboratory animals." Saccharin is the main ingredient in Sweet 'N Low. But in 2000, labeling requirements were dropped after scientific consensus emerged that the experiments linking saccharin in lab rats used such large quantities that the results weren't applicable to humans. While the FDA no longer requires the statement, some diet products still have it because companies had leftover labels before the rule change.

Aspartame:

The FDA never required warnings on products containing aspartame, other than warning for phenylketonurics, people with genetic disorder who can't metabolize part of aspartame, a popular ingredient in diet drinks. While one study of overall trends in cancer, as well as anecdotes, connected aspartame to brain cancer, while most experts dismiss such claims as invalid. "They are claims and not studies, and findings have not been replicated," said a professor at Rutgers University.

Mycoprotein:

This substance, a fungus used in Quorn, a meat-substitute product may cause diarrhea and vomiting in some people. "People do occasionally have sensitivity reactions, but in 90% of the cases it is just gastrointestinal discomfort," says vice president for Quron Foods a Riverside, Connecticut company, which uses the product.

The most powerful voice for stronger warning labels on most food additives has come from the Center for Science in the Public Interest, in Washington D.C., CSPI has petitioned the FDA to require stronger warning labels on various sugar substitutes and to take Quorn off the market. It was incensed by the recent decision on Olestra. Other groups such as the Aspartame Toxicity Information Center of Concord, NH also advocate stricter policies.

The only reason warning labels are not at issue is because the substances in question are food additives - substances added during processing or production.

The FDA doesn't review foods for safety and health concerns. A plate of beans can have unpleasant gastrointestinal side effects, but because beans are naturally occurring, the agency has no purview over them.