Consumers are sweet on Splenda

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>

> Consumers are sweet on Splenda

> Rastelli - Newhouse News Service

>

> There's a new dietary sweetener on the supermarket shelves, and it's causing

> quite a stir -- and not just in coffee. Some say it's more like sugar than

> what's already out there; others call it akin to science fiction.

>

> In fact, something is a little odd about Splenda. It's " light " -- almost too

> light to be real.

>

> But real it is, and it's in more than 3,500 products now lining the shelves.

>

> This new no-calorie sweetener can be found in everything from chewing gum to

> puddings. It can be used in baking and cooking in the same amounts -- spoon

> for spoon -- as sugar. And it has gotten Food and Drug Administration

> approval after more than 100 clinical trials, some using animals and some

> using people, although the exact number of humans involved in the trials is

> not being released.

>

> What is it?

>

> The short answer is that it's the newest member of the calorie-less

> sweetener lineup that includes Sweet'n Low and Equal. Splenda now has a 43.3

> percent market share for retail sugar substitutes. Sales hit about $300

> million last year.

>

> The long answer is that it's a laboratory-produced sweetener, called

> sucralose, derived from regular cane or beet sugar (sucrose) through

> something like an atomic swap at the most basic level, leaving it

> calorie-free. The chemistry, which involves chlorine atoms, is sophisticated

> yet simple, according to Splenda marketers McNeil Nutritionals of Fort

> Washington, Pa.

>

> " What we are hearing from the general public is that consumers love it, "

> says Neufang, a McNeil spokesman. " Splenda has benefits that some of

> the other sweeteners don't, such as cooking and baking with Splenda cup for

> cup as one would with sugar. Splenda also has high stability for heat. It

> retains its sweet taste even if it's baked at a high temperature. "

>

> Sweet'n Low contains saccharin. Equal contains aspartame.

>

> McNeil's mantra is simple: Splenda No Calorie Sweetener is made from sugar,

> so it tastes like sugar. It is suitable for people with diabetes, children

> and women who are nursing or pregnant.

>

> It measures and pours like sugar. It is said to be free of an unpleasant

> aftertaste and available in 50-, 100- and 200-packet cartons, as well as

> 1-pound, 2-pound and 5-pound Baker's Bag granular form.

>

> But there is a difference. The large baker's bag of Splenda -- with the

> sweetening capacity of five pounds of sugar -- weighs a mere 9.7 ounces.

> When you open it, you'll notice a difference in the texture and " feel " of

> the product, with Splenda much finer than regular white table sugar, almost

> as though the regular sugar has gone through the blender a couple of times.

>

> It does, nonetheless, taste like sugar, but depending on the mouth involved,

> an aftertaste still is under discussion.

>

> Sucralose was discovered in 1976 by Tate &Lyle, an English sugar company.

> &, McNeil's parent company, came on board about four years

> later to develop the plan of approval and marketing strategy for sucralose.

>

> Like anything new on the market, however, safety is an issue. Company

> officials are working to dispel any backlash Splenda might create in some

> circles, especially from those who consider the use of chlorine atoms in its

> production something of a problem.

>

> Most vocal is ph Mercola of Illinois, a self-described " osteopathic

> physician. " His site, www.mercola.com, lists what he believes are the perils

> of sucralose use, including symptoms such as enlarged livers, reduced growth

> rate and aborted pregnancy in rats, mice and rabbits.

>

> " It's unfortunate that people feel they need to raise concerns about the

> safety of something the FDA has rigorously attended to, " said Neufang. The

> company, she said, is well aware of Mercola's claims and contends they are

> false.

>

> The company disputes the claim that the use of chlorine atoms in sucralose

> production poses any more danger than the consumption of chlorine (in the

> form of chloride) in many of the foods we eat and drink daily, including

> that in the water supply, lettuce, tomatoes, mushrooms, melons, peanut

> butter and table salt.

>

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