SENATE MEMORIAL 9

49th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2009

INTRODUCED BY

Gerald P. Ortiz y Pino

A MEMORIAL

REQUESTING THE UNITED STATES FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION TO RESCIND APPROVAL OF ASPARTAME FOR UNITED STATES MARKETS.

     WHEREAS, aspartame was originally developed as a drug to treat peptic ulcers; and

     WHEREAS, manufacturers state that aspartame is made up of forty percent aspartic acid, fifty percent phenylalanine and ten percent methanol; and

     WHEREAS, aspartic acid is a nonessential amino acid that is used by the body to initiate apoptosis, or cell death, in aging cells; and

     WHEREAS, excess aspartic acid from aspartame consumption causes apoptosis in healthy cells that can destroy healthy tissue, especially in the brain; and

     WHEREAS, phenylalanine is an essential amino acid found naturally in protein but when isolated becomes neurotoxic; lowers the seizure threshold; depletes serotonin, triggering psychiatric and behavioral problems; and interacts with antidepressants and other drugs; and

     WHEREAS, methanol is a severe metabolic poison classified as a narcotic that converts to formaldehyde and formic acid, and can embalm living tissue and damage DNA; and

     WHEREAS, aspartame metabolites include formaldehyde, a "class A" carcinogen, diketopiperazine, a brain tumor agent, and formic acid; and

     WHEREAS, in 1974, the United States food and drug administration approved aspartame as an artificial sweetener but requested that the manufacturer of aspartame hold back from selling it on the market until further tests could be made with regard to the safety of aspartame as a food additive; and

     WHEREAS, scientific data revealed that there was a problem with aspartame safety data, and the United States food and drug administration withdrew its approval of the use of aspartame as a food additive; and

     WHEREAS, in 1980, the United States food and drug administration's public board of inquiry unanimously voted against aspartame approval, but, against the advice of the food and drug administration's scientific personnel and advisers, that decision was overruled by a new food and drug administration commissioner, Dr. Arthur Hull Hays; and

     WHEREAS, the United States food and drug administration approved aspartame for use in sodas despite the fact that the national soft drink association argued vehemently against approving the use of aspartame as a food additive; and

     WHEREAS, the United States food and drug administration has compiled a list of ninety-two symptoms attributed to aspartame consumption, including four types of seizures, coma and death; and

     WHEREAS, the Ramazzini studies by the European foundation for oncology in Italy conducted exhaustive studies over three years with thousands of rats and proved aspartame to be a multipotential carcinogen, thus confirming the United States food and drug administration's original findings; and

     WHEREAS, as cited in many medical texts, including most notably "Aspartame Disease: An Ignored Epidemic" by H.J. Roberts, M.D., and "Excitotoxins: The Taste That Kills" by Russell Blaylock, M.D., aspartame is linked to sudden death, multiple sclerosis, lupus and many neurodegenerative diseases; and

     WHEREAS, there are tens of thousands of case histories and anecdotal accounts from victims of aspartame poisoning who have come forward to make their case histories known;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that, given the evidence that has been compiled concerning the neurodegenerative harm that can be caused by the use of aspartame as a food additive, the United States food and drug administration be requested to rescind approval of aspartame on a phase-out basis over a one-year time period; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the same request to rescind United States food and drug administration approval of aspartame as a food additive also be forwarded to the president of the United States and the secretary of the federal department of health and human services for their consideration to rescind food and drug administration approval of aspartame as a food additive by executive order; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the president of the United States, the secretary of the federal department of health and human services, the commissioner of the United States food and drug administration, the members of New Mexico's congressional delegation, the governor of New Mexico and the New Mexico secretary of health.

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