b. If aspartame is allowed for use in foods (if its approval is not withdrawn) what conditions for use and labeling should be required, if any?
In June of 1979, Acting FDA Commissioner Sherwin Gardner selected the 3-person Public Board of Inquiry (BOI). The selected panelists were Peter J. Lampert, M.D. (Professor and Chairman, Department of Pathology, University of California - San Diego), Vernon R. Young, Ph.D. (University of Nutritional Biochemistry, M.I.T.) and Walle Nauta, M.D., Ph.D. (Institute Professor, Department of Psychology and Brain Science, M.I.T).
Dr. John Olney objected to the Commissioner's selection of Dr. Vernon Young on grounds of both conflict of interest and his lack of qualifications. Dr. Young had written articles in collaboration with G.D. Searle scientists, though they were not aspartame related. Additionally, Dr. Olney thought that the question of aspartic acid's neurotoxicity needed to be examined by a neuropathologist and that Dr. Young was not qualified because his field was Nutrition and Metabolism. Dr. Olney's objections were overruled by the Acting FDA Commissioner. In the end, Dr. Young was assigned to study the issue of aspartic acid toxicity.
One of the PBOI panelists, Dr. Walle Nauta, said, "It was a shocking story we were told [about Searle's animal testing] but, there was no way we could go after it. We had absolutely no way of knowing who was right. We had to take the FDA's word."
On January 21, 1981, the day after Ronald Reagan became the 40th President of the United States, G.D. Searle reapplied for the approval of aspartame. G.D. Searle submitted new studies along with their application. Reagan was expected to replace Jere Goyan, the FDA Commissioner. G.D. Searle President & CEO, Donald Rumsfeld's connections to the Republican Party were also thought to be connected to Searle's decision to reapply for aspartame's approval at that time.
According to a former G.D. Searle salesperson, Donald Rumsfeld told his sales force that, if necessary, "he would call in all his markers and that no matter what, he would see to it that aspartame would be approved that year."
Meanwhile, there were FDA scientists who were very concerned about specific problems linking aspartame with brain tumors, brain lesions, and general brain chemistry. Another concerned neuroscientist, Dr. John Olney studied aspartame extensively and he expressed his concern about the serious negative health effects aspartame consumption had on the human body.
The concerns of these top scientists were of no consequence to Rumsfeld. Rumsfeld made the decision to solve this problem politically - not scientifically.
On October 15, 1982, G.D. Searle petitioned the FDA for approval of aspartame use in soft drinks and children's vitamins.
On October 1, 1982 an amendment was attached to the Orphan Drug Act. This act encourages the development of drugs for rare diseases. The amendment extended the patent on one product -- aspartame -- by 5 years, 10 months and 17 days. The amendment did not mention aspartame or G.D. Searle specifically and there was no debate or discussion on this amendment.
This amendment was proposed by Senator Howell Heflin, brought up for vote by Senator Robert Byrd, and pushed through by Representative Henry Waxman and Senator Orrin Hatch. G.D. Searle requested Senator Heflin sponsor the amendment. Heflin reportedly received $9,000 in campaign donations from G.D. Searle company executives shortly after this amendment was approved. Senator Byrd received a $1,000 campaign contribution from the CEO of G.D. Searle (Rumsfeld) before the amendment was proposed. Representative Waxman received a $1,500 campaign contribution from the soft drink political action committee. Senator Hatch also received $2,500 from the soft drink political action committee prior to his re-election and $1,000 each from Daniel Searle, Wesley Dixon (Daniel Searle's brother-in-law), and William Searle. Senator Hatch has blocked hearings looking into the safety of aspartame many times.
In 1985, G.D. Searle was sold to the chemical company, Monsanto. Monsanto then created the NutraSweet Company as a separate subsidiary from G.D. Searle.
In 1992, NutraSweet signed agreements with the Coca-Cola and PepsiCo stipulating that The NutraSweet Company was their preferred supplier of aspartame. The patent for aspartame expired on December 14, 1992. This opened up the market to other companies.
The most notable corporate heir to this glorious legacy of maiming, birth defects, brain tumors, and scores of other entirely preventable neurodegenerative illnesses, became Ajinomoto of Japan, even at that point already the world's largest maker of yet another neurotoxic food additive, Monosodium Glutamate. Any surprises, so far?
>>>>To backtrack: Who, precisely, was Arthur Hull Hayes, the FDA Commissioner who went along with Rumsfeld's plan to approve aspartame, one of the dirtiest chapters in the already tawdry history of that troubled agency?
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