On January 10, 1977, FDA Chief Counsel Richard Merrill recommended to U.S. Attorney Sam Skinner in a 33-page letter detailing violations of the law that a grand jury be set up to investigate G.D. Searle. In the letter, Merrill stated (Merril 1977, page S10827 of Congressional Record 1985b): "We request that your office convene a Grand Jury investigation into apparent violations of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, 21 U.S..C. 331(e), and the False Reports to the Government Act, 18 U.S.C. 1001, by G.D. Searle and Company and three of its responsible officers for their willful and knowing failure to make reports to the Food and Drug Administration required by the Act, 21 U.S.C. 355(i), and for conceailing material facts and making false statements in reports of animal studies conducted to establish the safety of the drug Aldactone and the food additive Aspartame." All of the G.D. Searle studies were abyssmal as discussed earlier. However, there were two studies where the violations of the law appeared to be especially flagrant. The two studies cited by Merrill were the 52-week toxicity study on infant monkeys performed by Dr. Waisman which G.D. Searle withheld key information from the FDA and the 46-week toxicity study of hamsters where G.D. Searle had taken blood from healthy animals at the 26th week and claimed that the tests had actually been performed at the 38th week. Many of the animals from which G.D. Searle claimed had blood drawn from were actually dead at the 38th week. See earlier discussion for references. -------------- On January 26, 1977, G.D. Searle's law firm, Sidley & Austin, requested a meeting with U.S. Attorney Samuel Skinner before a grand jury is convened (Gordon 1987 page 497 of US Senate 1987, Mullarkey 1994b, page 6-7). One representative of Sidley & Austin at that meeting was Newton Minow who is currently on the Board of Diretors at the Chicago Tribune (Gordon 1987, page 497 of US Senate 1987; Mullarkey 1995). -------------- On March 8, 1977, in a confidential memo to aides, while he was supposed to be pushing for fraud indictments against G.D. Searle, U.S. Attorney Samuel Skinner stated that he had begun preliminary employment discussions with G.D. Searle's law firm Sidley & Austin (Gordon 1987, page 497 of US Senate 1987; Mullarkey 1994b, page 7). -------------- On April 13, 1977, a U.S. Justice Department memo urged U.S. Attorney Samuel Skinner to proceed with grand jury investigations of G.D. Searle. The memo points out that the Statute of limitations on prosecution would run out shortly (October 10, 1977 for the Waisman monkey study and December 8, 1977 for the hamster study) (Mullarkey 1994b, page 7). -------------- Samual Skinner withdrew from the G.D. Searle case and Assistant U.S. Attorney William Conlon was then assigned to the Grand Jury investigation (Gordon 1987, page 497 of US Senate 1987). -------------- On July 1, 1977, U.S. Attorney Samuel Skinner left his job to work for the G.D. Searle law firm Sidley & Austin. Thomas Sullivan was appointed as Samuel Skinner's successor (Gordon 1987, page 497 of US Senate 1987). -------------- Assistant U.S. Attorney William Conlon convened a grand jury, but he let the Statute of Limitations run out on the aspartame charges (Gordon 1987, page 497 of US Senate 1987). Fifteen months later, Conlon accepted a job with the law firm representing G.D. Searle, Sidley & Austin (Gordon 1987, page 497 of US Senate 1987). -------------- Robert McConnell was the Director of G.D. Searle's Department of Pathology and Toxicology which oversaw most of the aspartame research. Mr. McConnell was named in Richard Merrill's letter to U.S. Attorney Samuel Skinner. According to McConnell's attorney, his client was awarded a $15,000 bonus and asked to take a 3-year sabbatical (for which he received $60,000/year) because he was a "political liability." (Gordon 1987, page 496 of US Senate 1987) -------------- Philip Brodsky, the Lead Investigator for the orginal FDA Task Force looking into G.D. Searles studies retired. He stated that his reason for retiring was the disclosure of the 1975 FDA Task Force findings before the U.S. Congress (Sen Kennedy hearings in 1976) had become "politicized." As Gregory Gordon put it in the UPI Investigative article (Gordon 1987, page 496 of US Senate 1987): "He said the main witnesses, Searle executives and top FDA officials uninvolved in the investigation gave 'the wrong answers to the wrong questions . . . They didn't even let the experts answer the questions.'" -------------- In August 1977, the Bressler Report pertaining to three key aspartame studies, E5, E77/78 and E89, was released. Some of the findings from the three studies reviewed by the Bressler- led FDA Task Force include (Mullarkey 1994b, page 11, 48; Farber 1989, page 110-112; Verrett 1987, page 385 of US Senate 1987): a. In one study, 98 of the 196 animals died but were not autopsied until as much as one year later. Because of the delay, much of the animal tissue could not be used and at least 20 animals had to be excluded from postmortem examinations. b. The original pathology sheets and the pathology sheets submitted to the FDA showed differences for 30 animals. c. One animal was reported alive at week 88, dead from week 92 through week 104, alive at week 108, and finally dead at week 112. d. An outbreak of an infectious disease was not reported to the FDA. e. Tissue from some animals were noted to be unavailable for analysis on the pathology sheets, yet results from an analysis of this "unavailable" tissue was submitted to the FDA. f. There was evidence that the diet mix was not homogeneous allowing the animals to eat around the test substance. This evidence included a picture and statements by a lab technician. g. Fifteen fetuses from animals in one experiment were missing. h. Sections from the animals were too thick for examination. i. There was no documentation on the age or source of the test animals. j. There was no protocol until one of the studies was well underway. k. Animals were not permanently tagged to prevent mixups. l. Some laboratory methods were changed during the study, but not documented. A G.D. Searle pathologist referring to the DKP study was quoted by investigators as saying (Graves 1984, page S5500 of Congressional Record 1985a): "You should have seen things when this study was run -- there were five studies being run at one time -- things were a mess!" The leader of the Task Force, Jerome Bressler, was quoted as saying (Gordon 1987, page 497 of US Senate 1987): "The question you have got to ask yourself is: Because of the importance of this study, why wasn't greater care taken? The study is highly questionable because of our findings. Why didn't Searle, with their scientists, closely evaluate this, knowing fully well that the whole society, from the youngest to the elderly, from the sick to the unsick . . . will have access to this product." -------------- Immediately after the Bressler Report was released, H.R. Roberts, Director of the FDA's Bureau of Foods created a 5- person task force to review the Bressler Report. The review was done by a team at the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN report). H.R. Roberts would leave the FDA to become a vice president of the National Soft Drink Association in 1978. FDA Toxicologist, Jacqueline Verrett was appointed the Senior Scientist of the Bureau of Foods Task Force. On September 28, 1977, H.R. Roberts, Director of the FDA's Bureau of Foods received a report from a Bureau of Foods Task Force which claimed that G.D. Searle's studies they reviewed appeared to be authentic (meaning that they were actually conducted) (Mullarkey 1994b, page 8). For each of the major discrpancies found by the Bressler-led Task Force -- those listed above and many others -- there was a comment in the FDA Bureau of Foods Report minimizing the problem. It seemed that no matter how serious the mistakes were, the FDA Bureau of Foods was determined to accept the studies by G.D. Searle. The experimental errors as described above were so bad that it proved difficult to minimize all of the major errors in these key studies. In some cases, the best that the CFSAN could do was to say that "The Task Force could find no evidence that this was a deliberate attempt to influence the study." or "It could not be determined if the results would have been altered...." (Farber 1989, page 111, GAO 1987, Appendix IV). The Senior Scientist of the FDA Bureau of Foods Task Force, Jacqueline Verrett had left the FDA when she openly discussed the Task Force with UPI Investigative Reporter, Gregory Gordon (Gordon 1987, page 497 of US Senate 1987): "Jacqueline Verrett, the senior scientist on the review team, said members were barred from stating opinions about the research quality. 'It seemed pretty obvious that somewhere along that line they (bureau officials) were working up to a whitewash,' she said. 'I seriously thought of just walking off of that task force.' Verrett, now a private consultant, said that she and other members wanted to 'just come out and say that this whole experiment was a disaster and should be disregarded.' In her testimony before the U.S. Senate, Dr. Verrett stated the following (Verrett 1987): "This authentication was hence intended to verify that the submitted data had not been altered; that it reflected the actual outcome of the study, and that it did not change substantially, particularly in a statistical sense, the various parameters from which the conclusion of safety had been derived. "Our analysis of the data in this manner revealed that in these three studies, there were really no substantial changes that resulted, although in numerous instances, a definitive answer could not be arrived at because of the basic inadequacies and improper procedures used in the execution of these studies. "I would like to emphasize the point that we were specifically instructed not to be concerned with, or to comment upon, the overall validity of the study. This was to be done in a subsequent review, carried out at a higher level. . . . . "It would appear that the safety of aspartame and its breakdown products has still not been satisfactorily determined, since many of the flaws cited in these three studies were also present in all of the other studies submitted by Searle. . . . . "Well, they told us in no uncertain terms that we were not to comment on the validity of it. And I hoped, although having been there at that point for 19 years, I should have known better, that there really would be an objective evaluation of this beyond the evaluation that we did. "I do not feel that that was done, based on what I have read in the GAO report that I have looked at and so forth. They definately did not objectively evaluate these studies, and I really think it should have been thrown out from day one. "We were looking at a lot of little details and easy parameters in this study, when the foundation of the study, the diet and all of these other things, were worthless. We were talking about the jockey when we should have been talking about the horse, that he had weak legs. It is built on a foundation of sand." -------------- The FDA general counsel wrote a letter to Consumer Attorney, James Turner, Esq. responding to Mr. Turner's concern about the quality and validity of G.D. Searle's experiments. The FDA stated, "The Public Board of Inquiry on aspartame should provide a vehicle for definitive resolution, at least for those studies about which you are most concerned." (Graves 1984, page S5498 of Congressional Record 1985a). As will be discussed later, Dr. John Olney and James Turner, Esq. were not allowed to have the quality and validity of the G.D. Searle studies considered at the Public Board of Inquiry. 1978 ---- On December 13, 1978, UAREP submited its results of their analysis of 12 of G.D. Searle's aspartame studies. UAREP stated in their report that "no discrepancies in any of the sponsor's reports that were of sufficient magnitude or nature that would compromise that data originally submitted." (Farber 1989, page 33) Remember, the Director of UAREP pointed out in an interview that their pathologists did not conduct a comprehensive review of the studies, they only looked at the animal tissues (Graves 1984, page S5500 of Congressional Record 1985a). As it turns out, UAREP pathologists who examined the test results were discovered to have missed and withheld negative findings from the FDA (Gross 1987b, page 2-5). In some cases, they completely missed cancerous brain tumors when analyzing the slides. In addition, some of the slides that were to be examined by UAREP pathologists were missing even though they where supposed to have been kept under "FDA seal." (Olney 1987, page 6-7) FDA Toxicologist Adrian Gross stated that the UAREP review "may well be interpreted as nothing short of a whitewash." (Farber 1989, page 114). Given that the UAREP review results was so biased in favor of G.D. Searle, one wonders why the FDA would allow a company being investigated for fraud to pay $500,000 and hire an outside entity to "validate" their studies. Even though the UAREP report was biased, there were numerous instances in that report which demonstrated that G.D. Searle had not submitted even marginally accurate findings to the FDA of their pre-approval aspartame tests. For example, in one study, twelve animals actually had cancerous brain tumors, yet UAREP reported to the FDA that only three animals had such tumors (Gross 1987b, page 3-4). 1979 ---- In March of 1979, the FDA somehow concluded that G.D. Searle's aspartame studies could be accepted. They decide to convene the Public Board of Inquiry (PBOI) which was agreed to by Dr. John Olney and Attorney James Turner more than four years earlier (Federal Register 1979). -------------- In April of 1979, the FDA outlined the specific questions which were to be addressed by the PBOI. The FDA limited the scope of the PBOI to (Federal Register 1981): a. Whether the ingestion of aspartame either alone or together with glutamate poses a risk of contributing to mental retardation, brain damage, or undesireable effects on neuroendocrine regulatory systems. b. Whether the ingestion of aspartame may induce brain neoplasms (tumors) in the rat. c. Based on answer to the above questions. (i) Should aspartame be allowed for use in foods, or, instead should approval of aspartame be withdrawn? (ii) If aspartame is allowed for use in foods, i.e., if its approval is not withdrawn, what conditions of use and labeling and label statements should be required, if any? Dr. John Olney, G.D. Searle, and the FDA's Bureau of Foods were allowed to nominate scientists for the 3-person PBOI panel (Farber 1989, page 34, Federal Register 1981, page 38286). It is important to note that the scope of the review was very limited in light of all of the various adverse reactions reported to the FDA. The PBOI also disallowed any discussion of the validity of the pre-approval experiments because it accepted the word of certain FDA officials that these experiments had been "validated." Finally, the PBOI was told not to consider aspartame in beverages, only in dry goods. -------------- In June of 1979, the acting FDA Commissioner, Sherwin Gardner selected the 3-person Public Board of Inquiry. The panelists were Peter J. Lampert, M.D., Professor and Chairman, Department of Pathology, University of California (San Diego), Vernon R. Young, Ph.D., University of Nutritional Biochemistry, M.I.T., and Walle Nauta, M.D., Ph.D., Institute Professor, Department of Psychology and Brain Science, M.I.T. Dr. John Olney strongly objected to the Commissioner's selection of one of the panelists, Dr. Vernon Young, on grounds of conflict of interest and lack of qualifications (Olney 1987, page 3). Dr. Young had written nonaspartame- related articles in collaboration with G.D. Searle scientists (Brannigan 1983, page 196). In addition, Dr. Olney stated that the question of aspartic acid's neurotoxicity should be looked at by a neuropathologist and that Dr. Young was unqualified since his field was Nutrition and Metabolism. Dr. Olney's objections were overruled by acting FDA Commissioner Sherwin Gardner and the panelists who he objected to was assigned to study the issue of aspartic acid toxicity. One of the PBOI members, Dr. Walle Nauta stated (Graves 1984, page S5498 of Congressional Record 1985a): "It was a shocking story we were told [about Searle's animal testing] but, there was no way we could go after it. We had absolutely no way of knowing who was right. We had to take the FDA's word." Dr. Nauta stated that he would have "definately" considered other tests and factors if he had known that aspartame was planned for use in soft drinks (Graves 1984, page S5503 of Congressional Record 1985a). 1980 ---- The Public Board Of Inquiry voted unanimously to reject the use of aspartame until additional studies on aspartame's potential to cause brain tumors could be done. The PBOI was particularly concerned about experiment E33/34 where 320 rats received aspartame and a much higher percentage of animals in the aspartame group developed tumors than in the control group (Brannigan 1983, page 196). In addition, the PBOI was concerned about experiment E70 where 80 rats received aspartame. Both the aspartame group and the control group had an unusually high number of tumors, leading one to suspect that both groups were actually given aspartame (Federal Register 1981). The PBOI did not believe that aspartic acid presented a neurotoxic hazard. Yet, Dr. Olney pointed out that (Olney 1987, page 3): "[Dr. Young had a] lack of qualification" and that he "based his decision on a consideration of [aspartic acid] alone without regard to the real issue, i.e., is it safe to add [aspartic acid] to the large amounts of [glutamic acid/MSG] that are already adultering the food supply?" In addition, the "conservative" safety plasma level of aspartic acid used by Dr. Young was the level at which half the animals developed brain damage (Brannigan 1983, page 197). These errors by Dr. Young throw the question of safety of aspartic acid as part of aspartame into doubt. We will address this issue in more detail in a later section. 1981 ---- On January 21, 1981, the day after Ronald Reagan takes office as U.S. President, G.D. Searle reapplied for the approval of aspartame. G.D. Searle submits several new studies along with their application. It was believed that Reagan would certainly replace Jere Goyan, the FDA Comissioner. G.D. Searle president, Donald Rumsfeld's connections to the Republican party were also thought to play a part in Searle's decision to reapply for aspartame's approval on the day after Ronald Reagan was inaugurated (Gordon 1987, page 499 of US Senate 1987). -------------- According to a former G.D. Searle salesperson, Patty Wood- Allott, G.D. Searle president, Donald Rumsfeld told his salesforce that, if necessary, "he would call in all his markers and that no matter what, he would see to it that aspartame would be approved that year." (Gordon 1987, page 499 of US Senate 1987) -------------- In March of 1981, a 5-member panel of scientists was established by the FDA Commissioner Jere Goyan to review the issues raised by the PBOI (Gordon 1987, page 498 of US Senate 1987; Mullarkey 1994b, page 8). -------------- In April 1981, Arthur Hull Hayes, Jr. was appointed FDA Commissioner by Ronald Reagan (Graves 1984, page S5502 of Congressional Record 1985a). -------------- On May 18, 1981, three of the scientists in the 5-member panel sent a letter to the panel lawyer, Joseph Levitt discussing their concerns about aspartame. Those three scientists were Satva Dubey (FDA Chief of Statistical Evaluation Branch), Douglas Park (Staff Science Advisor), and Robert Condon (Veterinary Medicine). Dubey thought that the brain tumor data was so "worrisome" in one study that he could not recommend approval of aspartame (Gordon 1987, page 495 of US Senate 1987). In another study, Dubey said that key data appeared to have been altered (Gordon 1987, page 499 of US Senate 1987). In his UPI Investigation, Gregory Gordon went on to describe the unusual events that followed (Gordon 1987, page 499 of US Senate 1987): "[Douglas] Park said that [panel lawyer Joseph] Levitt hurried the panel to decide the issue. 'They wanted to have the results yesterday,' he said. 'We really didn't have the time to do the in- depth review we wanted to do.' "Park said Levitt met frequently with Hayes and 'was obviously getting the pressure to get a resolution and a decision made.' "With three of five scientists on the commissioner's team opposing approval, it was decided to bring in a toxicologist for his opinion on isolated issues [Barry N. Rosloff]. Goyan said if the decision were his, he never would have enlarged the team. While the panel did not vote, it ended up split 3-3. "Levitt, who normally would have been expected to draft an options paper spelling out scientific evidence on key issues, took an unusual tack. He circulated an approval recommendation and only backed off when Dubey, Park, and Condon objected, team members said. Levitt said he was not directed to draft the approval memo, but did so as a 'tactical' step to break the team's weeks-long impasse by forcing each scientist to state his views. 'It worked, didn't it?' said Levitt, who later was promoted to a post as an executive assistant to the FDA Commissioner." -------------- On July 18, 1981 aspartame was approved for use dry foods by FDA Commissioner Arthur Hull Hayes, Jr. overruling the Public Board of Inquiry and ignoring the law, Section 409(c)(3) of the Food Drug and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 348), which says that a food additive should not be approved if tests are inconclusive (Federal Register 1981, Farber 1989, page 38). In an article in Common Cause Magazine, Florence Graves states that two FDA officials said that Arthur Hull Hayes, Jr. wanted to push aspartame approval through in order to signal reforms of the Reagan Administration. The "reasoning" behind the FDA Commissioner's decision will be discussed in a later section (Graves 1984, page S5497 of Congressional Record 1985a). 1982 ---- On October 15, 1982, G.D. Searle petitioned the FDA for approval to use aspartame in soft drinks and children's vitamins (Gordon 1987, page 499 of US Senate 1987; Farber 1989, page 38) -------------- On October 1, 1982 an amendment was attached to the Orphan Drug Act (an act which encourages the development of drugs for rare diseases) which modified the U.S. Patent law (Congressional Record 1982). The amendment extended the patent on only one product -- aspartame -- by 5 years, 10 months and 17 days (Gordon 1987, page 504 of US Senate 1987). The amendment did not mention aspartame or G.D. Searle by name and there was no debate or discussion on the amendment. The amendment was proposed by Senator Howell Heflin, brought up for a vote by Senator Robert Byrd, and pushed through by Representative Henry Waxman and Orrin Hatch. G.D. Searle asked Senator Heflin to sponsor the amendment. Heflin received $9,000 in campaign donations shortly after this amendment was approved from G.D. Searle company executives and their wives. Senator Byrd had received a $1,000 campaign contribution from the CEO of G.D. Searle before the amendment was proposed. Representative Waxman received a $1,500 campaign contribution from the soft drink political action committee including $500 before the amendment was proposed. Senator Hatch received $2,500 from the soft drink political action committee prior to his reelection and $1,000 each from Daniel Searle, Wesley Dixon (Daniel Searle's brother-in-law), and William Searle (Gordon 1987, page 506 of US Senate 1987). Senator Hatch repeatedly blocked hearings looking into the safety of aspartame (Gordon 1987, page 506 of US Senate 1987). It could be argued that the amendment to extend G.D. Searle's patent of aspartame rectified the lost marketing time caused by the FDA investigations. However, it was G.D. Searle's horrendous pre-approval studies which led to the FDA investigations and the delays. Had they performed the studies with any competance, aspartame could have been approved quickly like any other FDA-approved food additive. (Actually, had the studies been done right, it is likely that aspartame would never been approved due to serious adverse reactions.) In addition, the amendment was applicable to one product and cannot be used similarly for other products. -------------- Between 1979 and 1982, four FDA officials who took part in the aspartame approval process went through the FDA revolving door and took jobs in industries that are closely linked with the NutraSweet issue (Gordon 1987, page 498 of US Senate 1987): 1. Mike Taylor was an FDA lawyer who represented the FDA Bureau of Foods at the PBOI and was part of the team that prevented the quality and validity of G.D. Searle's studies from being considered (Gordon 1987, page 498 of US Senate 1987). 2. Sherwin Gardner was the Deputy FDA Commissioner in 1979. In July, 1974, he had signed the initial approval for aspartame's use in dry foods. (This initial approval was later block by objections from James Turner, Esq. and Dr. John Olney.) In December, 1979, Sherwin Gardner became a Vice President of Grocery Manufacturers of America, Inc. (GAO 1986). While Mr. Garden claims that he did not discuss aspartame is his 4 meetings with the FDA within a year of leaving that agency or his 20 meetings with the FDA between 1980 and 1986, the organization he worked for does deal directly with aspartame products. It is unlikely that he would have been rewarded with the job had he called for another delay in approval and proposed that safety tests be conducted independantly in order to protect the public. 3. Stuart Pape was the Health and Human Services (HHS) Chief Counsel for Foods from October 1976 to March 1979. He served as special assistant to the FDA Commissioner from March 1979 to December 1979. He participated in meetings and discussions on aspartame as well as representing the FDA at the PBOI. In December 1979, Mr. Pape was given a job by the law firm of Patton, Boggs, and Blow. This law firm provided counself to the National Soft Drink Association (NSDA). Mr. Pape and Howard R. Roberts of the NSDA (who formerly fought for approval of aspartame at the FDA) met with the FDA twice in 1983 where aspartame was discussed. In 1983, the NSDA inexplicably withdrew their objection to aspartame in diet beverage (GAO 1986). 4. Albert Kolbye was the Associate Director of the FDA Bureau of Foods for toxicology. 1983 ---- Acting FDA Commissioner, Mark Novitch approved aspartame for use in carbonated beverages and carbonated beverage syrup bases (Federal Register 1983). FDA Commissioner, Arthur Hull Hayes was out of town the day that the approval was signed, but he worked closely with Mark Novitch on this issue (Gordon 1987, page 499 of US Senate 1987). Ignoring the FDA's own safety standards, the more than doubled the Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI) of aspartame from 20 mg/kg to 50 mg/kg (Metzenbaum 1985). -------------- Shortly after the FDA approval for aspartame in carbonated beverages, FDA Commissioner, Arthur Hull Hayes left the FDA under charges of improprieties, took a a position as the Dean of New York Medical Collage and was hired as an a consultant ($1,000 per day) with G.D. Searle's public relations firm, Burston Marsteller (Gordon 1987, page 499 of US Senate 1987). -------------- On July 8, 1983, Dr. Woodrow Monte, Director of the Science and Nutrition Laboratory at Arizona State University filed a petition objecting to the approval of aspartame based on possible serious adverse effects from the chronic intake of aspartame. Dr. Monte was especially concerned about the chronic intake of methanol (Federal Register 1984). Dr. Monte also filed a petition with the Arizona Department of Health Services to ban aspartame. -------------- On July 8, 1983, James Turner, Esq. filed a peition with the FDA on behalf of himself and Community Nutrition Institute objecting to the approval of aspartame (Federal Register 1984). -------------- Dr. Woodrow Monte, at the suggestion of his lawyer, invested $2,000 in G.D. Searle stock options in order to raise money for his costly legal battles against aspartame. He ended up losing $1,224. His purchasing of the "put options" caused some controversy. Dr. Monte was later accused of conflict-of- interest by G.D. Searle. Dr. Monte's lawyer had told him that he "didn't think there was anything wrong" with purchasing the options. A move that Dr. Monte later called a mistake. (Gordon 1987, page 508 of US Senate 1987) -------------- On November 23, 1983, the FDA denied a request to put the approval on hold "because public interest did not require it." (Federal Register 1984). 1984 ---- On February 17, 1984, the FDA denied Dr. Woodrow Monte and James Turner the opportunity to hold a safety hearing on questions raised in their petition (Federal Register 1984). -------------- G.D. Searle sent a number lobbyists to the State of Arizona including Andrew Herwitz, Arizona Governor Babbitt's former Chief of Staff, Charles Pine, a prominent Arizona lobbyist, Roger Thies, a G.D. Searle lawyer, and David West, a G.D. Searle official (Gordon 1987, page 507 of US Senate 1987; Stoddard 1995a, page 17). -------------- The State of Arizona DHS completed studies showing that aspartame in carbonated beverages can break down into free methanol (among other things) in 99oF temperatures. The amount of methanol which broke down concerned the DHS enough that a ban of aspartame was discussed (Gordon 1987, page 507 of US Senate 1987). -------------- Between August 23, 1984 and September 21, 1984, G.D. Searle officials contributed to the campaign of Arizona House Majority Leader Burton Barr. The Committee to Reelect Barr then gave campaign contributions to a number of state representatives (Don Aldridge, Karen Miills, Jan Breuer) who all eventually voted of the side of G.D. Searle (Gordon 1987, page 507 of US Senate 1987). -------------- Dr. Woodrow Monte's petition for a hearing regarding banning aspartame in Arizona was rejected (Gordon 1987, page 507 of US Senate 1987). -------------- 6,900,000 pounds of aspartame were consumed in the U.S. in 1984 (USDA 1988). 1985 ---- Dr. Richard Wurtman of MIT is quoted as saying that Dr. Gerald Gaull, a G.D. Searle Vice President, came to his laboratory and threatened to veto his funding from the International Life Sciences Institute (ILSI) after Wurtman quit his job as a G.D. Searle consultant and became a NutraSweet opponent (Gordon 1987, page 503 of US Senate 1987). -------------- Dr. Woodrow Monte filed for reconsideration of his petition for a hearing in Arizona. He was granted a hearing scheduled for April 1985 (Gordon 1987, page 507 of US Senate 1987). -------------- In April 1985, in an unusual and secret maneuver, the Arizona legislature removed the text in a Toxic Waste Bill and used it to pass a bill which banned the regulation of FDA-approved food additives (Gordon 1987, page 508 of US Senate 1987). This bill scuttled the hearing that Dr. Monte had been promised. -------------- On May 7, 1985, the U.S. Senate heard testimony relating to an amendment put forth by Senator Howard Metzenbaum requiring the quantity of aspartame to be labelled (Congressional Record 1985a). It is nearly impossible for a person to determine what quantity of aspartame they are ingesting unless it is labelled. Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah led the fight (along with G.D. Searle) against the labelling ammendment. The ammendment was defeated. Those voting against the amendment included: Abdnor, Armstrong, Baucus, Bentsen, Biden, Bingaman, Boren, Boschwitz, Bradley, Bumpers, Cochran, Cohen, D'Amato, Danforth, DeConcini, Denton, Dixon, Dole, Domenici, Durenberger, Evans, Ford, Garn, Goldwater, Gore, Gorton, Gramm, Gassley, Hatch, Hawkins, Hecht, Heflin, Heinz, Helms, Hollings, Humphrey, Inouye, Kassebaum, Kasten, Laxalt, Leahy, Levin, Lugar, Mattingly, McClure, McConnell, Mitchell, Murkowski, Nickles, Nunn, Packwood, Pressler, Pryor, Quayle, Riegle, Roth, Rudman, Sasser, Simpson, Stafford, Stevens, Symms, Thurmond, Tribe, Wallop, Warner, Wilson, Zorinsky. Those voting for the amendment included: Burdick, Byrd, Chafee, Chiles, Cranston, Dodd, Eagleton, Glenn, Harkin, Hart, Hatfield, Johnston, Kennedy, Kerry, Lautenberg, Long, Mathias, Matsunaga, Melcher, Metzenbaum, Moynihan, Pell, Proxmire, Rockefeller, Sarbanes, Simon, Spector. -------------- On August 1, 1985, Senator Howard Metzenbaum of Ohio introduced a bill entitled "Aspartame Safety Act of 1985" which required quantity labelling of aspartame on food items and mandated that there be a moratorium on new uses of aspartame until independent tests could be conducted under the auspices of the National Institutes of Health (Metzenbaum 1985). Testimony was submitted for the record. The bill was submitted to a Senate committee where it died. -------------- After suffering a $28 million dollar loss in the previous year, selling off 30 subsidaries, and having a suit filed by 780 women claiming that G.D. Searle's intrauterine device caused them pelvic inflammatory disease, G.D. Searle sold out to the chemical company, Monsanto (Gordon 1987, page 509 of US Senate 1987). Monsanto then created the NutraSweet Company as a subsiderary separate from G.D. Searle. -------------- 14,400,000 pounds of aspartame were consumed in the U.S. in 1985 (USDA 1988). 1986 ---- Community Nutrition Institute (CNI) filed suit against the FDA in District Court claiming that the FDA did not follow proper procedure in approving aspartame for beverages and that they should have held a public hearing before giving final approval (Farber 1989, page 39). After the District Court dismissed their suit and the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals denied their request for a hearing stating that they failed to "raise any material issues of fact that require the FDA to grant a hearing," CNI stated: ...where the holding of a public hearing is no longer a responsible part of the food additive process, the F.D.A. and the appeals court have increased the likelihood that unsafe food additives will reach the market. -------------- In July 1986, the U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO) published the results of an investigation of five former government employees involved in the aspartame approval process who took jobs linked to the aspartame industry (GAO 1986). While these former employees' actions were not illegal, it is a good example of how the U.S. Government and especially the FDA "revolving door" helps certain powerful companies have near complete control over governmental actions. Government employees will give industry whatever it wants (and the public be damned). Then many of these employees will be rewarded with high-paying industry jobs. Some of those people will then end up back in government in order to do more favors for their industry friends -- even if it means destroying people's lives and health. The inner- city gangs are not the only place where morally corrupt individuals operate with near impunity. -------------- 15,700,000 pounds of aspartame were consumed in the U.S. in 1986 (USDA 1988). 1987 ---- The United Press reported on October 12, 1987 that more than 10 federal officials involved in the NutraSweet decision took jobs in the private sector linked to the aspartame industry (Gordon 1987, page 495 of US Senate 1987). -------------- On November 3, 1987 a hearing was held in a U.S. Senate Committee to address the issue of aspartame safety and labelling (US Senate 1987). Senator Orin Hatch successfully block any labelling requirements. -------------- In June 1987, the U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO) published the results of an investigation which looked into whether the FDA followed its required approval process (GAO 1987). The report concluded: "Because FDA followed its required approval process in approving aspartame and monitors adverse reactions and ongoing aspartame research, GAO is making no recommendations." It is important to note that the author of the report specifically stated on the first page: "We did not evaluate the scientific issues raised concerning the studies used for aspartame's approval or FDA's resolution of these issues, nor did we determine aspartame's safety. We do not have such scientific expertise." The GAO seemed only interested in whether the FDA took the legally appropriate steps, not whether or not the FDA's decisions were based on the facts or made any sense. - They were not interested in the fact that CFSAN's evaluation of the Bressler report was a "whitewash" in the words of the head scientist of the CFSAN team. - They were not interested in the severe reactions suffered by many of the animals in the preapproval studies. - They were not interested in the countless, major flaws in the preapproval studies as described earlier. - They were not interested in the fact that the FDA Commissioner, who later consulted for the G.D. Searle Public Relations firm (at $1,000 per day), over-ruled the Public Board of Inquiry (PBOI) experts and over- ruled his own chosen scientific experts to approve aspartame. - They were not interested that the FDA decided to allow G.D. Searle to pay UAREP $500,000 to "validate" 15 of their studies. They were only interested in whether the legally required steps were taken. Even with the limited scope of the GAO investigation, they made numerous factual errors in their report, some of which are detailed in the letter from fromer FDA Investigator and Toxicologist Dr. Andrian Gross presented before the U.S. Senate in 1987 (Gross 1987b, page 11). Dr. Gross concludes: "Although in their report the GAO expresses the view that the FDA 'followed its required process in approving aspartame (for marketing)' I would sharply disagree with such evaluation. Although the FDA may have gone through the motions or it may have given the appearance of such a process being in place here, the people of this country expect and require a great deal more from that agency charged with protecting their public health:- in addition to mere facade or window- dressing on the part of the FDA, they require a thorough and scientifically based evaluation by the Agency on the safety of the products it regulates. "Unfortunately this has clearly not been the case here. And without this kind of assurance, any such 'process' or dance represents no more than a farce and a mockery of what is truly required." -------------- An estimated 17,100,000 pounds of aspartame were consumed in the U.S. in 1987 (USDA 1988). NutraSweet stopped providing consumption data to the USDA after 1987. It is much easier for NutraSweet scientists to create inaccurate aspartame consumption figures when the total number of pounds sold is not publically available, or is inaccurate when it is given out publically. 1988 ---- In August 1988, aspartame was approved for use in Brazil (Monsanto 1990). Thanks to a massive advertising campaign, at the end of 1990, 150 products were sweetened exclusively by aspartame. 1990 ---- In May 1990, Nutrasweet opened a production facility in S‹o Jose dos Campos, Brazil (Monsanto 1990). There was no diet foods in Brazil in the 1980s. Unfortunately, part of NutraSweet's efforts "to build a diet segment from zero" in Brazil will likely lead to many people in Brazil obsessing about the weight and appearance which in turn often leads to eating disorders and other psychological problems. At the same time, NutraSweet is beginning to dose the population with their slow poison. 1991 ---- NutraSweet joined with its long-time partner, Ajinomoto Co. Inc. of Japan to begin building an aspartame manufacturing plant in Gravelines, France (Monsanto 1991). -------------- The NutraSweet Company began a project to develop a new artificial sweetener, called "Sweetener 2000" which is said to be approximately 10,000 times sweeter than sugar. The chemical composition of this sweetener was not detailed in Monsanto's Annual Report. NutraSweet's plan is to get this new sweetener to the market by the end of the decade (Monsanto 1991). 1992 ---- NutraSweet signed agreements with the Coca-Cola Co. and PepsiCo Inc. "stipulating The NutraSweet Company as their preferred supplier of aspartame (Monsanto 1992). -------------- NutraSweet stated that one of their options for increases sales in the carbonated soft drink market is to prepare "higher-concentration formulations that use more aspartame" (Monsanto 1992). -------------- The FDA approved the NutraSweet Company's application to market aspartame in bulk form. NutraSweet markets the product under the name "NutraSweet Spoonful" (Monsanto 1992). -------------- The patent for aspartame expired on December 14, 1992 opening up the market to other companies such as Holland Sweetener Company (Monsanto 1992). 1993 ---- In mid-1993, NutraSweet and long-time partner, Ajinomoto Co. of Japan began producing aspartame from the new production facility in Gravelines, France (Monsanto 1993). -------------- NutraSweet began a joint venture with Nestle Mexico to bring aspartame to Mexico (Monsanto 1993). -------------- NutraSweet began to explore other aspartame marketing opportunities in Mexico (Monsanto 1993). 1994 ---- NutraSweet introduced tabletop aspartame products to Mexico, Hungary, Uganda, Ecuador, Romania, Uruguay, and Paraguay (Monsanto 1994). -------------- Aspartame's net sales outside of the U.S. accounts for 10 percent of all net sales (Monsanto 1994). -------------- NutraSweet announced plans to market aspartame tabletop sweeteners in 1995 throughout Southeast Asia. They plan to introduce aspartame to India and to test market an aspartame tabletop sweetener in China during 1995 (Monsanto 1994). 1995 ---- In a June 12, 1995 article which appeared in Food Chemical News, Thomas Wilcox, the FDA epidemiology branch chief was quoted as saying, "FDA has no further plans to continue to collect adverse reaction reports or monitor research periodically done on aspartame." (Food 1995) -------------- Monsanto/NutraSweet is beginning to test market Equal in Shanghi, China. It is part of a plan to push their poison on 60 million Chinese in the coastal cities (Millman 1995).