I have a question about aspartame, AKA Nutrasweet (in the UK anyway) and about to change it's name again, possibly because of it's reputation being affected by opinions voiced mainly on the internet. The question is:-
Why was a product that was refused FDA approval for several years suddenly approved when Ronald Reagan became president and appointed a new FDA director (Arthur Hayes Hull) who overrode the recommendations of the FDA's own scientists, granting approval? I know it was only coincidence (was it) that Donald Rumsfeld was the CEO of GD Searle (developer and manufacturer of aspartame) at the time, his career is well documented, as is his vow to "call in his markers" when approval had originally be refused. Rumsfeld became Secretary for Defense and Hull left the FDA under allegations of impropriety, later taking a position with Burston-Marsteller, the chief public relations firm for both Monsanto and GD Searle (Monsanto acquired Searle in '85).
So, nothing to be concerned about there then.