....with notes generously provided by Dr. Betty Martini, Founder, Mission Possible International
Dr. Chiyome Leinaala Fukino, Director of Hawaii Department of Health, in her ostensibly expert testimony posted at the Hawaii Legislature website under Testimony opposing HB 2680 to ban aspartame/methanol/formaldehyde/diketopiperazine referred to a study used to oppose the bill which was paid for by the world’s largest manufacturer of aspartame and of another neurotoxic additive (Monosodium Glutamate); that company is Ajinomoto, the manufacturer of aspartame/methanol/formaldehyde/diketopiperazine funded it, and it used industry studies to say aspartame is safe. (Strangely enough, even after repeated phone calls, almost none of the medical experts supporting the ban who submitted testimony have yet seen their testimony posted on the legislature website, and please do take a look at the Forbes magazine puff piece on Ajinomoto’s Chief Scientific Officer, a Japanese Veterinarian, who thinks MSG is not neurotoxic but actually good enough medicine to give to starving children in Ghana: this is a Googleable article: The MSG Cure).
Is there a reason that she, a physician, Director, Department of Health didn't check this out? Maybe you the reader should call her and ask her that question…. The medical experts in the US don’t think it so amusing that Ajinomoto tried to get away with this phony paper.
Thus, any Legislature Resolution that is watered down and weakened asking the DOH to “study” this more and report back to the legislature is pretty toothless, as in my opinion the DOH has already disqualified itself from even any illusion of objectivity! The Hawaii Department of Health should be more dedicated to protecting the health of all Hawaiians, and their study, unless it includes a repository where victims of aspartame/methanol/formaldehyde/diketopiperazine poisoning can report their cases, and to include those reported by the families of those who have already died; unless a Resolution addressed these needs, such a Resolution would all be for nothing. A meaningful resolution should also include a direct request of Andrew Von Eschenbach, M.D., Commissioner of the FDA, to immediately rescind the approval for aspartame, but keep in mind that 21 New Mexico Legislators have already signed a letter to him and to President Bush to that effect over one year ago; this letter was virtually ignored by Dr. Von Eschenbach, who replied with corporate pleasantries that looked like they had been taken off the manufacturer’s website, and completely ignored by George Bush, who continues to drink Diet Sodas, despite warnings not to do so by physicians.The Hawaii DOH is (inadvertently we hope) defending industry. Physicians wanting credible studies would do some further research. I truly understand how busy are the legislators, but one has to wonder whether Josh Green or any of the Committee members even read the detailed testimonies from some of the top physicians in the world on this aspartame subject; we have to further wonder what good the DOH will do, since Hawaii’s House Health Committee declined to take enough stock in their testimonies to even vote on passing or not passing the Bill. It's like going to the people who defend them, like Calorie Control Council, one of their front groups. This is Ajinomoto's tactic, to use a respectable medical journal for disreputable research, and they pay a lot of money to get this done. They have people in high places everywhere.
You could write a book on it. In fact, Stauber did, "Trust Us, We're Experts.” Industry usually uses this propaganda, which is answered with medical references: http://www.dorway.com/offasprt.html Scientists exposed the manufacturer of aspartame/methanol/formaldehyde/diketopiperazine in congressional hearings for this. Take the time to read just some of the documents at the Aspartame Toxicity Center, www.holisticmed.com/aspartame.
The Aspartame Review in Toxicology Magazine is totally junk science funded by an aspartame manufacturer, Ajinomoto. As Mike Adams wrote in News Target, "This conclusion was reached by a panel of industry friendly "experts" hired by Ajinomoto, who did no new research but, instead, selectively reviewed previous studies on the safety of aspartame, many of which were funded by aspartame manufacturers in the first place!
Further he said, "The panel of experts was called together by the Burdock Group, a consulting firm that earns its money from food and grocery manufacturers like Ajinomoto. The Ajinomoto Company was reportedly not allowed to actually choose which panel members would be part of the aspartame safety review, but industry critics like Michael Jacobson of the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), responded by saying, "They say Ajinomoto paid for the study
but researchers didn't know who paid. Well, they knew it was industry, and some ofthese people are longstanding industry consultants.” As an example: Take Ronald Walker (Critical Reviews in Toxicology).
Ronald Walker: 1. Spent seven (7) years as the ILSI's Chairman of their Scientific Committee on Toxicology/Food Safety in Europe. Monsanto, Ajinomoto, Coca Cola, Pepsi Cola, Holland Sweetener Company, etc fund ILSI.
2. Direct financial conflicts of interest:
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