Stock price of US-based Cola major Coca-Cola saw its stock price crashed after reports of common artificial sweetener, Aspartame, used in soft drinks is set to be declared a possible carcinogen causing cancer by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). On Thursday (June 29), Coca-Cola stock price closed at $60.02 apiece, down 0.83 per cent from its previous closing in the New York Stock Exchange.
Citing sources news agency Reuters reported Aspartame used in products from Coca-Cola diet sodas to Mars' Extra chewing gum and some Snapple drinks, will be listed in July as 'possibly carcinogenic to humans' for the first time by the IARC, cancer research arm of the World Health Organization (WHO). Soon after this report, both Coca-cola and Pepsico, witnessed a decline in their stock value. PepsiCo stock price On June 28 closed at $183.70 apiece, down 1.35 per cent on the NASDAQ.
According to Reuters report, the IARC ruling was finalised earlier this month after a meeting of the group's external experts and is intended to assess whether something is a potential hazard or not, based on all the published evidence. However, this is not the first time Coke suffered a setback. Earlier, Cristiano Ronaldo’s gesture for people to drink water instead of Coke at a Euro 2020 press conference cost the soda company $4 billion in market value.
The IARC report does not take into account how much of a product a person can consume safely. The advice for individuals comes from a separate WHO expert committee on food additives, known as JECFA (the Joint WHO and Food and Agriculture Organization's Expert Committee on Food Additives), alongside determinations from national regulators. However, similar IARC rulings in the past for different substances have raised concerns among consumers about their use, led to lawsuits, and pressured manufacturers to recreate recipes and swap to alternatives. That has led to criticism that the IARC's assessments can be confusing to the public, as reported by Reuters.
JECFA, the WHO committee on additives, is also reviewing aspartame use this year. Its meeting started at the end of June and it is due to announce its findings on the same day that the IARC makes public its decision on July 14.