LETTER FROM FORMER FDA INVESTIGATOR ARTHUR EVANGELISTA

[Guest guest]

Letter from former FDA investigator Arthur Evangelista:

 

This was originally a letter to the editor of a magazine, commenting

on an

article that was printed earlier by the same.

 

For those who are not familiar with Mr. Evangelista, he was a

government

investigator is charge of investigating the dishonest - criminal, in

fact -

procedures of the GD Searle Company, the original owners of the

aspartame

patent, in attempting to get aspartame approved through dishonest and

deceptive laboratory procedures, in their massive study with live

rats,

wherein they did everything they could to cover up all of the horrible

things that were happening to the rats that they were giving

aspartame to

(lots of brain tumors, atrophied testes, cancer, you name it). The

scientists at FDA picked their report apart, and they determined that

there

was a conscious attempt to deceive FDA on a massive scale, and they

were

actually going to try and throw a lot of Searle executives and

scientists in

jail over this. However, what happened next was that Donald Rumsfeld

took

over the company and paid a whole lot of money into the presidential

campaign of Ronald Reagan, who simply fired the FDA director and

essentially

approved aspartame by executive order, bypassing normal procedures.

 

Here is Evangelista's letter:

 

2/4/95

 

I am a former FDA Investigator. Along with my investigative

experience, my background in the medical sciences, training and

education have led me to write to you and uncover some facts. I have

no

stake in this debate, except to clear the air about NutraSweet,

objectively and logically, and raise some serious questions about this

issue.

 

Referring to the letter from Dr. Robert Moser [Jan.14], one has to

question Dr. Moser's objectivity. To begin with, as he is under

contract to the NutraSweet Co., it would be safe to assume that

anything

in Dr. Moser's article would support NutraSweets claims to being safe.

After all, that's his job. As such, there are serious doubts as to the

objectivity and accuracy of his letter, and that's just for starters.

 

In my opinion, NutraSweet is a poisonous neurotoxin.

 

In 1965, while searching for an anti-ulcer drug, NutraSweet's

producer, G.D. Searle, found that it had a strong sweet taste. A few

years later, at the manufacturer's request, Dr. Harry Waisman

(physician

and biochemist) from the University of Wisconsin conducted a study of

aspartame and its PKU (pheylketonuria) effects. Although there were

reports of negative findings, Searle deleted this information before

sending the report to the FDA.

 

In 1971, another doctor, from Washington University School of

Medicine, informed Searle Co. that aspartic acid caused holes in the

brains of the animals he was testing. A researcher, hired by Searle

itself, confirmed these findings. Searle had submitted 13 tests. FDA

scientists who reviewed these tests found serious deficiencies in all

of

them. Despite these major concerns (and, in my opinion, a need for

further investigation), FDA managers decided that the tests could be

relied upon.

 

In July of 1974, aspartame was approved for use in dry goods,

including chewing gum.

 

Just one month later, an objection to FDA's approval of aspartame

was filed. The objection cites brain lesions and neuro-endocrine

disorders in test animals. A hearing was requested on the purported

safety of aspartame. An investigation was ordered in July of 1975 to

determine if Searle submitted false information to the FDA.

 

By December 1975, FDA investigators concluded that Searles research

practices were so severely flawed, they were basically unreliable.

Contradicting the findings of their own investigators, the FDA upheld

the aspartame approval.

 

On April 8, 1976, at a U.S. Senate subcommittee hearing regarding

G. D. Searle Co. and the FDA, it was stated that an astonishing,

almost

unbelievable scope and range of abuses or deficiencies uncovered by

the

FDA on several Searle products was profoundly disturbing.

 

Even more disturbing, many people associated with this issue had

questionable motives. One U.S. Attorney left the case and then

received

a position with the law firm Sidley and Austin, of which Searle is a

client. This happened with the assistant U.S. Attorney, too. A member

of Congress became Searle's president.

 

The bureaucratic whitewash went on like this for three more years,

until, in direct contradiction to accumulated evidence, aspartame was

approved for many food types, including a packaged, tabletop sweetener

in 1981. Just a year before, a Public Board of Inquiry concluded that

it had not been shown any proof that aspartame was safe as a food

additive. A six-person review panel was established to review these

issues. Three of the six advised against approval. The FDA

commissioner approved aspartame for its proposed uses, citing a study

to

support that fact. The study, by the was, was conducted by Ajinomoto,

the Japanese manufacturer of aspartame.

 

NutraSweet, a.k.a. aspartame, is a compound of the following

chemicals: methanol (wood alcohol); aspartic acid; and phenylalanine.

Aspartame readily breaks down into its component parts, and this

decomposition is hastened by heat. Methanol breaks down further into

formaldehyde and formic acid (ant sting poison).

 

In 1983, a warning that phenylalanine is present was placed on some

labels of aspartame-containing products for individuals with

phenylketonuria. During this period, the Arizona Dietetic Association

and the Central Arizona District of the Association filed a suit

seeking

to order the FDA to hold a hearing regarding adverse effects of

aspartame. Supported by too-numerous-to-ignore consumer complaints,

reports about aspartame poured in.

 

By early 1994, the federal government reported 6,888 complaints

concerning the adverse effects of aspartame. As a matter of fact,

aspartame accounted for 75 percent of all complaints in the Adverse

Reaction Monitoring System.

 

Hardly a counter-placebo effect, Dr. Moser. how much did they pay

you for that psychological cow-chip?

 

NutraSweet adverse reactions suggested this was a strong

neurotoxin. Some of these symptoms are: aggressive behavior,

disorientation; hyperactivity; numbness of the extremities;

excitability; memory loss; visual impairments and loss of depth

perception; liver dysfunction; seizures; tumors; severe mood swings;

and

major neurological degeneration.

 

If we carefully scrutinize Dr. Moser's letter, we can see that he

clearly name-calls those people who have spoken out against aspartame,

yet cannot offer any evidence or rationale to support the product

itself.

 

A. Michael Evangelista

Consultant, F.D.A. Regulatory Affairs

Atlanta