Indeed, they pointed out that each of the 73 studies showing harmful effects of aspartame on health had been excluded without solid justification. Conversely, 43 of the 62 studies that showed little or no impact from aspartame were included in the assessment — either partially or fully. Yet some of the excluded studies were considered by the two experts to be “more robust and more relevant” than those that were kept. Another issue: among the studies included, many were industry-funded, and some had even been described by former FDA toxicologists as “worthless,” “fraudulent,” or even a “disaster”37.