the 200 million global consumers of aspartame, a sweetener, could be at high risk of contracting cancer, claims a recent study. Conducted by researchers from Cesare Maltoni Cancer Research Center of the European Ramazzini Foundation of Oncology and Environmental Sciences, a non-governmental organisation in Italy, the study shows the sweetener can cause cancer in rats at levels approved for human consumption. This is the first experimental study to link aspartame to cancer and is scheduled for publication in Environmental Health Perspectives.