Food and Drug Administration: Six Former HHS Employees' Involvement in Aspartame's Approval

In response to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) process for approving the artificial sweetener aspartame. GAO obtained information on six former Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) employees, specifically: (1) their contacts with the product's manufacturer while employed by HHS and with FDA after they left their government positions; and (2) their involvement in the FDA aspartame approval process.