Tom Sanders
Prof Tom Sanders is Head of the Nutritional Sciences Research Division, King's College London.[1]
Views
He has made a name for himself defending the safety of the controversial artifical sweetener aspartame in the media. He said:
- The key point is that we can help people to live healthier lives if they can reduce their calorie intake. Sweeteners (aspartame) have a valuable role to play in the fight against obesity.[2]
In response to a report from the American Association of Neuropathologists showing an aspartame link to brain cancer and other serious health problems, Sanders said:
- There is simply no evidence to show aspartame causes cancer. It is probably the most stiffly tested substance we consume.[3]
Sanders has also compared drinking juiced fresh fruit unfavourably to drinking Coke:
- If you liquidise it into goo it's just like drinking ordinary Coke. Or worse, actually. It's still a sugary drink. A lot of people on diets don't realise that if they're drinking loads of apple juice or orange juice, it's got a lot of calories in. If you drink a litre of apple juice a day, it'll be 400 calories.[4]
However, this claim only takes into consideration the one factor of calories - not vitamins and minerals, which are arguably a more important factor in choosing a drink.
Criticism of study on GM maize
In September 2012 a study was published showing that the commercialised GM maize NK603 caused massive tumours, organ damage, and premature death in rats fed the maize over a lifetime. Similar effects were seen in rats fed tiny amounts of the herbicide Roundup, which NK603 is engineered to tolerate, below levels permitted in food, feed and drinking water.[5]
On the same day the study was released, the Science Media Centre in the UK rushed out a series of spoiler quotes from "experts" refuting the study.[6]
Sanders provided one quote, which was cited in a Reuters report on the study.[7]
Sanders said:
- Most toxicology studies are terminated at normal lifespan i.e. 2 years. Immortality is not an alternative. No food intake data is provided or growth data. This strain of rat is very prone to mammary tumours particularly when food intake is not restricted.
- There is a lack of information on the composition of the diet. One concern is whether there were mycotoxins in the maize meal because of improper storage. Zearalanone is a well know phytoestrogen produced by filamentous fungi that grow on maize.
- The statistical methods are unconventional, there is no clearly defined data analysis plan and probabilities are not adjusted for multiple comparisons.[8]
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Notes
- ↑ Science Media Centre, Expert reaction to GM maize causing tumours in rats, 19 Sept 2012, acc 22 Sept 2012
- ↑ Thea Jourdan, Aspartame - Sweet or sour? Daily Mail, Oct 12, 2004
- ↑ Rita Carter, The truth about sugar substitutes, The Independent, 19 Nov 1996
- ↑ Aida Edemariam, The myths of fruit, The Guardian, 23 Jan 2008, acc 22 Sep 2012
- ↑ Séralini, G. E., E. Clair, et al. (2012). "Long term toxicity of a Roundup herbicide and a Roundup-tolerant genetically modified maize." Food and Chemical Toxicology.
- ↑ Science Media Centre, Expert reaction to GM maize causing tumours in rats, 19 Sept 2012, acc 22 Sept 2012
- ↑ Reuters, UPDATE 3-Study on Monsanto GM corn concerns draws scepticism, Sep 19 2012, acc 22 Sep 2012
- ↑ Science Media Centre, Expert reaction to GM maize causing tumours in rats, 19 Sept 2012, acc 22 Sept 2012
