Splenda
Product type | Sugar substitute |
---|---|
Owner | Heartland Food Products Group |
Country | U.S.A. |
Introduced | 1999 |
Website | www www www |
Splenda
Sucralose was discovered by Tate & Lyle and researchers at
Since its approval by the United States government in 1998[2] and introduction there in 1999, sucralose has overtaken Equal in the $1.5-billion artificial sweetener market, holding a 62% market share.[3] According to market research firm IRI, Splenda sales were $212 million in 2006 in the U.S. while Equal's totaled $48.7 million.[4] According to a 2012 article in The New Zealand Herald it is "the category leader in table-top sweetener in the US".[5]
Products
Splenda is available in a variety of products,[6] including:
- Splenda Original Sweeteners (based on sucralose)
- Splenda Stevia Sweeteners
- Splenda Monk Fruit Sweeteners
- Splenda AlluloseSweeteners
- Splenda Liquid Sweeteners
- Splenda Coffee Creamers
- Splenda Diabetes Care Shakes
- Splenda Premium Sweet Teas
Energy (caloric) content
The energy content of a single-serving (1 g packet) of Splenda is 3.36 kcal, which is 31% of a single-serving (2.8 g packet) of granulated sugar (10.8 kcal).
Cooking
Unlike other artificial sweeteners, sucralose is heat stable up to 450 °F (232 °C), so Splenda can be used as a replacement for table sugar in cooking and baking,[9] and there are Splenda products packaged specifically for this purpose.[10] In product testing by Cook's Illustrated, the major drawback to cooking with Splenda was found to be that it does not produce the browning or caramelization the way table sugar does.[11] However, Cook's Illustrated also found that desserts baked with Splenda were "lacking the artificial flavors that just about every other sugar substitute brings with it".[11]
Health and safety regulation
Splenda usually contains 95%
A repeated dose study of sucralose in human subjects concluded that "there is no indication that adverse effects on human health would occur from frequent or long-term exposure to sucralose at the maximum anticipated levels of intake".
Sucralose may not be completely biologically inert, and a study showed that cooking with sucralose at high temperatures could cause it to degrade into potentially toxic compounds.[22] However, only a very small amount (approximately 2–8% of sucralose consumed) is metabolized by the body, on average,[23] and the amount of sucralose present in Splenda is slight.
Marketing controversy
In 2006, Merisant, the maker of Equal, filed suit against McNeil Nutritionals in U.S. District Court, Philadelphia, alleging that Splenda's tagline; "made from sugar, so it tastes like sugar" is misleading. McNeil argued during the trial that it had never deceived consumers or set out to deceive them, since the product is in fact made from sugar. Merisant asked that McNeil be ordered to surrender profits and modify its advertising. The case ended with an agreement reached outside of court, with undisclosed settlement conditions.[24] In 2004, Merisant filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau regarding McNeil's advertising. McNeil alleged that Merisant's complaint was in retaliation for a ruling in federal court in Puerto Rico, which forced Merisant to stop packaging Equal in packages resembling Splenda's. McNeil filed suit in Puerto Rico seeking a ruling which would declare its advertising to not be misleading. Following Merisant's lawsuit in Philadelphia, McNeil agreed to a jury trial and to the dismissal of its lawsuit in Puerto Rico. However, on May 11, 2007, the parties reached a settlement on the case, the terms of which were not disclosed.[4]
In 2007, Merisant France prevailed in the Commercial Court of Paris against subsidiaries of McNeil Nutritionals LLC. The court awarded Merisant $54,000 in damages and ordered the defendants to cease advertising claims found to violate French consumer protection laws, including the slogans; "because it comes from sugar, sucralose tastes like sugar" and "With sucralose: comes from sugar and tastes like sugar".[25]
A Sugar Association complaint to the Federal Trade Commission stated that "Splenda is not a natural product. It is not cultivated or grown and it does not occur in nature."[26] McNeil Nutritionals, the manufacturer of Splenda, has responded that its "advertising represents the products in an accurate and informative manner and complies with applicable advertising rules in the countries where Splenda brand products are marketed."[27] The Sugar Association created a web site to criticise sucralose which cites an association-sponsored study.[28]
References
- ^ "Tate and Lyle history".
- ^ "FDA Approves Sucralose". U.S. Food and Drug Administration. April 1, 1998. Archived from the original on 2008-02-23.
- New York TimesBusiness section
- ^ a b Johnson,Avery (April 6, 2007), How Sweet It Isn't, Wall Street Journal, Marketplace Section, p.B1
- ^ Christopher Adams (Aug 28, 2012), US launch sweet news for kiwi supplier, The New Zealand Herald
- ^ "SPLENDA Products | SPLENDA® Brand". No Calorie Sweetener & Sugar Substitute | SPLENDA. Retrieved 2020-06-03.
- ^ a b "USDA FoodData Central". United States Department of Agriculture
- ^ Code of Federal Regulations, Title 21, Volume 2, Pg. 95 – 101.60 U.S. Food and Drug Administration
- ISBN 978-0-399-53025-8.
- ^ "Cooking and Baking Tips". Splenda.com.
- ^ a b "Splenda". Cook's Illustrated. January 1, 2004.
- ^ "Everything You Need to Know About Sucralose". foodinsight.org. International Food Information Council. 26 November 2018. Retrieved 2020-01-03.
- PMID 14647086.
- ^ Roberts, Ashley (1999). "Sucralose and diabetes". Foods & Food Ingredients Journal of Japan. 182: 49–55.
- PMID 10882818.
- ^ PMID 10882825.
- ^ Browning, Lynnley (2008-09-02). "New Salvo in Splenda Skirmish". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-05-24.
- S2CID 11909980.
- ^ Daniells, Stephen (2009-09-02). "Sucralose safety 'scientifically sound': Expert panel".
- ^ 21 CFR 184.1444
- ^ 21 CFR 184.1857
- PMID 24219506.
- ^ Michael A. Friedman, Lead Deputy Commissioner for the FDA, Food Additives Permitted for Direct Addition to Food for Human Consumption; Sucralose Federal Register: 21 CFR Part 172, Docket No. 87F-0086, April 3, 1998
- New York Times
- ^ Heller, Lorraine (May 14, 2007) Splenda ad slogans banned in France, Food Navigator
- ^ Splenda Ads Condemned as Misleading to Consumers by International Advertising Boards, Sugar Farmers and Processors, Sugar Association Press Release, November 2, 2006
- ^ Sugar industry files complaint over Splenda, Reuters (NBC News), Nov. 2, 2006
- ^ "The Truth About Splenda Archived 2005-04-22 at the Wayback Machine" website by the Sugar Association
External links
- Heartland official U.S. website for Splenda
- Heartland official U.K. website for Splenda
- Splenda Truth, rebuttal site run by Heartland, makers of Splenda