Ajinomoto Aspartame and ASDA

Ajinomoto Sweeteners Europe SAS has sued ASDA Stores Ltd for describing aspartame as a "nasty" in an own label product range sold under the brand name "Good for You". Following a preliminary hearing held at the High Court in London on 6 July judgment was handed down by the court on 15 July 2009. The purpose of the preliminary hearing was to obtain a ruling on what the statements by ASDA mean in law, and therefore whether or not they are actionable.

Despite agreeing with Ajinomoto that a substantial number of consumers will understand describing aspartame as a "nasty" to mean that it is potentially bad for you, the judge also developed his own meaning of the terms, which he arrived at through a series of complex arguments. The judge then created a new rule which required that his second meaning was to be preferred. This means that Ajinomoto will need to lodge an appeal to pursue its case.

Legal action is not a step that Ajinomoto has taken lightly. It is, however, important to defend the reputation of aspartame and of the many products that use the ingredient.

Aspartame is a safe and wholesome ingredient with a history of more than 25 years use in foods and drinks. Since its introduction in the United Kingdom in 1983, aspartame has enabled food and drink manufacturers to offer consumers low calorie products with an excellent taste.

Made from two amino acids, parts of protein found in many everyday foods, such as meat, fish, cheese, fruit and cereals, aspartame brings nothing new to the diet and is digested naturally by the body.

With rising rates of obesity, governments and leading healthcare providers are encouraging us all to reduce the number of calories that we consume. Aspartame is well placed to help because it has a clean sugar-like taste that people genuinely enjoy, without the calories of sugar, and it has been shown scientifically to help control weight.

Furthermore, aspartame is the best tasting of all the low calorie sweeteners. In documents laid before the court, ASDA stated that "consumers generally prefer the sweetening flavour of aspartame to that of sucralose."

Ajinomoto firmly believes that the denigration of aspartame is not in the interest of consumers' health or good nutrition, and remains steadfast in its defence of this safe and beneficial ingredient.

15 July 2009

Back to Contents