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Splenda®: Is It Safe Or Not?
Dr. Janet Hull reveals the scientific evidence strongly suggesting the chemical sweetener sucralose may harm your body. Visit Is Splenda Safe.com for more information!



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Reducing Your Exposure To Chlorine

By Dr. Janet Starr Hull

Today, deposition of chlorine within the human body is an increasing reality, and the chlorine compound we must add to this list: Chlorinated sucrose—the “newly-marketed” chlorocarbohydrate (chlorocarbon) found in food products with Splenda®, the new chemical sweetener with unknown side effects from long-term internal use.

Thanks to chlorine pollution, Americans are exposed to a daily amount of chlorine toxins 300 to 600 times greater than the EPA's "safe" dose.1 Monitoring chlorine-containing products from animal feed to artificial sweeteners is a critical step in reducing human exposure to chlorine because, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, ninety-five percent of exposure to chlorine compounds occurs through the diet.

Cancer-causing residue from chlorine bleaching can be found in products like coffee filters, the manufacturing of chlorine-bleached paper, disposable diapers, paper towels and bathroom tissue. Dioxins (chlorine-containing compounds) are recognized as one of the most carcinogenic chemicals known to science and have been linked to:

Industry Is Beginning To Change Its View Of Chlorine:

Ben & Jerry’s® ice cream has the following printed on their cartons:

“This is an unbleached ‘eco-pint.’  Bleaching paper with chlorine releases different dioxins, one of which the EPA identifies as the most toxic ever created.  This eco-pint is part of our efforts to use environmentally safe packaging.  Enjoy!”

Way to go, B&J!

Here’s More Chlorine-Based Poisons You May Have Been Exposed To: Along with common manufactured chlorine comes a long and dangerous list of pollutants humans, and other animals, have been exposed to over time:2

Most of the chemicals produced in the laboratory using chlorine and carbon are still unknown to nature. They resist breakdown yet deposit (bioaccumulate) in both the environment and in animal body fat. Often chlorine and its breakdown byproducts are very slow to decompose, and, in some cases, it may take years or decades to completely break down. Some chlorine compounds actually become more toxic once unleashed in the environment.3

Reducing Your Exposure To Chlorine

A healthy diet and lifestyle are the best ways to reduce exposure to chlorine, namely by reducing the amount of processed foods in your diet, along with seeking out clean and natural food sources. By avoiding or at least decreasing your consumption of processed foods, you significantly reduce your chances of eating any manmade chlorine found in chlorinated water and pesticides sprayed on the crops. Combine this with clean, organic if possible, vegetables and naturally raised meat and eggs (unpasteurized is preferable), you will be on the right health track.

The Chlorine Chemistry Council supports efforts to better understand the role that chlorine plays in human health and the environment. Supporting their commitment to science education and to local communities, the CCC stated, “We are working to further reduce emissions into the food supply, while at the same time provide the building blocks of chlorine chemistry that help produce essential products that make our lives safer, healthier and more convenient." 

Dr. John Marshall of the Pure Water Association, an American consumer group campaigning for safer drinking water, states, "It shows we should be paying more attention to the chemicals we put in our drinking water and should be looking for other alternatives to chlorination. A number of safe, non-toxic options exist, such as treating water with ozone gas or ultra violet light."

The Norwegian government has also ordered more research to be done. Concerned families have begun filtering their tap water with a popular method of placing sachets of coral sand dredged from Norwegian fjords into the water before it is consumed, removing all traces of chlorine after fifteen minutes.

Here are some safety tips you can follow to reduce your daily chlorine exposure:

And now,

1. J. Chlorine is a chemical whose time has passed: persistent organic pollutants (POPs) threaten the health and well-being of humans and wildlife. Chlorine Quandary. 2001 http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/research/2001/1/chlorine_ban/print.phtml

2. Chlorine Chemistry Council. Arlington, VA. http://c3.org/about_ccc/index.html

3. Chlorine facts: http://www.bidness.com/esd/cl2facts.htm

Additional References

Ames BN, Gold LS. Another perspective ...Nature's way. Consumer's Research Magazine. Vol. 76. No. 8. p. 20. August 1993.

Institute of Occupational Health. Solna, Sweden. PMID: 8833460, UI: 96430334. Mar, 34 (3): 176-8O.

Environmentally safe mixtures. Biodegradable ingredient cleaners. http://www.inlandtech.com

Posted on April 29, 2005 in Chlorine | Link To This Entry | Comments (0)

Are Artificial Sweeteners Safe For Children?

By Dr. Janet Starr Hull

Have your kids been out of sorts lately?  Do they complain of more frequent tummy aches, malaise, mood swings or aggression?  Have you read the labels on what they are eating at home, at school, and away from the house?

“Consumption of even moderate amounts of aspartame during pregnancy may produce a dramatic increase in the number of children born with diminished brain function,” warned Diana Dow-Edwards, PhD research scientist, SUNY Health Science Center, Brooklyn, NY1.  Dow-Edward’s research began in the mid-1980s, but her early warnings of aspartame’s harmful effects on fetuses during pregnancy have fallen upon deaf ears.  With the rapid rise in mental illness amongst children, AD/HD and hyperactivity, depression, and lower IQs,  why hasn’t research such as Dow-Edward’s been considered as a probable cause for rising mental disease amongst modern children?  Why haven’t mothers been warned that artificial sweeteners can cause birth defects and mental retardation if taken at the time of conception and early pregnancy?

I can relate many case histories of children having mal seizures and other mental disturbances while using NutraSweet®. Unfortunately, it is not always easy to convince a mother that aspartame is to blame for her child's illnesses. Only by trial and success will she be able to warn other mothers to take their children's health into their own hands.

The manufacturers of Splenda even admit: "One should note, however, that foods made with low-calorie sweeteners are not normally a recommended part of a child's diet, since calories are important to a growing child's body."2

Pay attention to this statement....Children should not be encouraged to grow up on fake foods. But just like cigarettes and alcohol, “do what I say and not what I do?” And we wonder why the younger generation is angry, ill, and ridden with ADHD, depression, hypoglycemia, and diabetes.  How many kids do you see taking a sip of mom's diet cola or chewing a stick of sugar-free gum?

Children raised on chemical diets are more likely to develop physical and mental disorders, and as Dow-Edwards predicted, the evidence is surfacing at epidemic levels in America and other developed countries.  FDA toxicologist Dr. Jacqueline Verett told Congress at the time of aspartame’s approval in 1981 that “all aspartame studies were built on a foundation of sand and should be thrown out.”3 Has the FDA repeated aspartame’s questionable approval process for sucralose found in Splenda®, allowing a product with proven carcinogens to flood our food supply?  Only time will tell, as it has with aspartame. Yet at the cost of human lives.

As a parent, you’ll be the first one to notice health and behavioral changes in your children. Children are reacting to artificial sweeteners in harmful ways, but this aspect of the recent sweetener wars has gone unnoticed in the mainstream health community. The sweetener corporations market to children by placing soft drink machines in public elementary schools, and by influencing doctors that diet sweeteners don’t cause abnormal behavior and emotional stress in children. When you have exhausted all the other reasons for your child’s poor health or mental/emotional problems, then diet chemicals could be the culprit.

The chemicals in diet products are no doubt toxic, and the rise in the number of childhood diseases and mysterious health symptoms are proving to us, the public, that the use of artificial chemicals in a child’s diet disrupts normal development both emotionally and physically, especially before and during puberty when the human hormones have not yet fully developed.

Reactions to chemical sweeteners may vary among people, especially among children. Depression can hide behind a smiling face, a temper tantrum or hyperactivity. But don’t ignore the warning signs! Take away all the diet sugar substitutes immediately—and don’t forget that diet sweeteners are found in medications, too.

Here is a Rule of Thumb: Children who drink diet colas and eat foods with artificial sweeteners may be reacting to the chemicals in their foods when they express a depressed mood that stays around without letting up. Being “down in the dumps” over a period of time is not a normal part of growing up. Take away all diet food and drink products sweetened with artificial sugars, and eliminate processed foods replete with preservatives, food colorings and artificial chemicals. See if their mood returns to normal and if they resume their usual daily routine. This is the first place to start.

At the first sign of behavioral changes and depression, especially for a child, remove all artificial sweeteners and food chemicals from the diet. Even if your primary doctor doesn’t recognize the influences of diet sweeteners on depression or aggression, it does no harm to remove these toxic food chemicals and return to a natural, whole foods diet. Overall physical fitness and a balanced diet are crucial ways to avoid illnesses that can bring on depression, hyperactivity or anxiety symptoms in your children.

Knowledge is power.  As an educated consumer, you have the awareness to choose what you and your family will ingest.  Unnatural artificial sweeteners may affect your health.  Why take the chance, especially when it comes to your children?

1. Hull, JS. Sweet Poison: How The World’s Most Popular Artificial Sweetener Is Killing Us-My Story. New Horizon Press, 1997. http://www.sweetpoison.com

2. Sucralose: http://tuberose.com/Sucralose.html

3. Hull, JS. Sweet Poison: How The World’s Most Popular Artificial Sweetener Is Killing Us-My Story. New Horizon Press, 1997. http://www.sweetpoison.com

Posted on April 9, 2005 in Artificial Sweeteners | Link To This Entry | Comments (3)

Artificial Sweeteners Create An Artificial Need

By Dr. Janet Starr Hull

People forget that originally, sweetness was actually a by-product of food: nature’s way to encourage living creatures to consume nutritious foods. Forced sweetness, revved-up sweetness, and artificial sweetness - all altered foods - are a trap that addict people to sweeter tastes. 

Artificial sweeteners are marketed as  “being super-sized with more sweetness and no penalty.” People with eating disorders, children who are first learning about healthy food habits, diabetics and those with degenerative illnesses are being seduced by crafty advertising campaigns.  “And the added plethora of laboratory chemicals are entirely unnecessary to put in the public food supply,” says Kelly Goyen, CEO of Empirical Labs.

It’s time to admit that there is no free ticket to eating all the sugar-free products you desire without paying the high price of harming your body in the long run.  The “technology of foods” (artificial sweeteners and manmade foods) has gone too far, and will not secure eternal health, beauty, slimness, or youth.  Laboratory chemicals are not the answer and create an artificial need for more.

“We’ve done a great job of redefining sweetness, and it’s great to see it pay off,” says Anne Rewey, Splenda marketing director for Ft. Washington, Pennsylvania-based McNeil. “We’re committed to the leadership position in this market.”

According to the Conference of the American College of Physicians “we are talking about a plague of neurological diseases caused by these deadly poisons.” (aspartame, sucralose, acesulfame-K)

As an educated consumer, you have a choice.  You can protect yourself from avoidable illnesses by simply being aware of the sweet deception from the chemical sweeteners surrounding you.

What Are Artificial Sweeteners and Why Are They Harmful?

Artificial sweeteners are a mix of unnatural chemicals, combined in a laboratory that the body can’t naturally process.  Basically, these chemicals either accumulate in your vital organs (causing possible damage later), pollute your bloodstream (causing possible damage later), or form the basis for eventual mutations of your cells (causing possible damage later).

NATURE VERSUS MANMADE:  The Key To “Safe” Food

In a nutshell, what nature generally creates for food is typically safe for your body:  whatever man creates for food (from chemicals in the laboratory) may not be accepted by your body as safe and can result in illness.  Our bodies are like machines (only natural) that operate today just as they did thousands of years ago. They don’t “understand” manmade chemicals as a source of nourishment and cannot fully process them. Forcing “foreign” materials into your body is like pouring shampoo into your car’s gas tank: it wasn’t meant to process it, so the engine stalls and stops working, and the chemical by-products obstruct your body systems.

Which Artificial Sweeteners Should You Avoid?

SPLENDA: THE NEW KID ON THE BLOCK

What Exactly Is Splenda?

Splenda is the trade name for sucralose, a relatively new manmade, artificial sweetener. Johnson & Johnson bought the rights in 1998 to sell sucralose in the United States as Splenda. Its basic characteristics are:

So why is Splenda potentially harmful?

It contains chlorine, which is a carcinogen.  The Splenda marketers insure the chlorine is chemically “bound” so it cannot be “released” in the body during digestion.  I question that, and wonder if this artificial chemical can safely pass through the human body.  Wait until you read what chlorine can do to the body.  Bad news.

Sucralose (Splenda) is a chlorocarbon - a chlorine-containing compound. The chlorocarbons have long been known for causing organ, genetic, and reproductive damage. It should be no surprise, then, that testing of sucralose revealed organ, genetic, and reproductive damage.  Research on lab rats showed up to forty percent shrinkage of the thymus gland: a gland that is the very foundation of our immune system.  The contamination of water supplies by chlorocarbons is a serious problem in most European countries today, making many people very ill and warranting cancer studies. Due to the chlorine content in Splenda, sucralose can inflame swelling of the liver and kidneys, and calcification of the kidney, as shown in animal studies.  If you experience kidney pain, cramping, or an irritated bladder after using sucralose, stop using it immediately.

Sucralose is patented as a manmade “chlorinated sucrose sweetener” and it is registered as “chlorinated sucrose.”  Chlorinated sucrose is not found anywhere in nature, like real sugar (sucrose) that is extracted from sugar cane and sugar beets. If it were, it would be a carcinogen!

Why is chlorine harmful? Doesn’t it kill germs in my tap water?

Let’s deviate for a moment: Manmade chlorine (found in Splenda) is essentially bleach.  There is natural chlorine found in nature, but it is compounded totally differently from Splenda’s laboratory concoction and the form of chlorine you sterilize your bathroom tile.

Splenda marketers stress that sucralose is “made from sugarbut is derived from this sugar through a process that selectively substitutes three atoms of chlorine for three hydrogen-oxygen groups on the sucrose molecule.”  While this is true, it is a deceptively simple description, implying that sucrose is a simple benign sugar substituted with chlorine, thereby, safe for consumption.  According to research on the hydrolysis of sugars, just the process of inserting chlorine into the sugar molecule (hydrolysis means breaking it into smaller molecules) ultimately allows these chemicals to penetrate the intestinal wall.

As an environmental engineer, I always reference what OSHA (the Federal Occupational Safety and Hazard Association) says in its regulations for toxic chemicals. Here’s what OSHA states concerning manmade chlorine, again the chemical used in Splenda.

OSHA States: Any animal that eats or drinks chlorine (especially on a regular basis) is at risk of cancer. The Merck Manuel and OSHA 40 SARA 120 Hazardous Waste Handbook states that chlorine is a carcinogen and emergency procedures should be taken when exposed via swallowing, inhaling, or through the skin.  Currently in Norwegian studies, the safety of chlorine added to the public water supply is being questioned as a cause of cancer.

References

Bellin J. New Scientist. pg 13. Nov 23, 1991.

Federal Register. Vol. 63. No. 64. Rules and Regulations 16417-16433. Friday. April 3, 1998.

Patent info: http://www.cas.org/motw/sucrapub2.html

Chlorine facts: http://www.bidness.com/esd/cl2facts.htm

Grant D.L. Toxicological Evaluation. Division Health and Welfare Canada. For the entire research report, visit the following link: http://europa.eu.int/comm/food/fs/sc/scf/out68_en.pdf

Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine. RC 46.H333, 2001.

Current Medical Diagnosis and Treatment. RC 71.A14, 2004.

Merck Manual of Diagnosis and Therapy. RC 55.M4, 1999.

Posted on April 8, 2005 in Artificial Sweeteners | Link To This Entry | Comments (1)

Sweetener in the Spotlight: Is Splenda Safe?

Lawsuits Put New Focus on Splenda and Other Artificial Sweeteners

By Colette Bouchez

WebMD Medical News          Reviewed By Michael Smith, MD

Feb. 16, 2005 -- Courtroom battles between the makers of Splenda and Equal have many questioning the safety of artificial sweeteners.

Since early 2000 McNeil Nutritionals has been advertising that its product -- Splenda -- is "made from sugar so it tastes like sugar." But the National Sugar Association and Merisant Worldwide (maker of Equal brand sweetener) have challenged that claim in a lawsuit.

McNeil Nutritionals shot back with a countersuit implying the case against them was more about corporate sour grapes than truth in consumer advertising.

But court battles and corporate backstabbing aside, the question on consumers' minds is not so much whether advertising slogans are right or wrong, but do they really make a difference -- at home, on the dinner table where it really counts?

Dietitian Nancy Restuccia, MS, RD, says they most definitely do.

"Splenda is not sugar -- and to piggyback it on to the reputation of the centuries' old profile of sugar is more than misleading, it could come back to haunt us, perhaps sooner than we think," says Restuccia, a nutritionist at the Center for Obesity Surgery at New York Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center in New York City.

Indeed, while there are currently only a handful of studies that question Splenda's safety and more than 100 which attest to its safe use, Restuccia says it simply hasn't been around long enough to amass any long-term data -- or even short-term data involving heavy consumption.

What Happens When Sweeteners Interact?

"Sugar may have its health drawbacks, but at least we know we're not in for any major surprises -- and we just can't say that about Splenda yet -- so to imply that it's got the same profile as sugar is misleading and that is important today, as well as in the long run," she says.

Samantha Heller, MS, RD, agrees. "Saying Splenda is made from sugar is like taking the round wheels off a car and putting on square wheels. Is it still a car? Yes. But can it still perform like a car? No -- and what's more we don't know what's going to happen when people try to 'drive it' cross country," says Heller.

Indeed, while Splenda starts out as sugar, some serious scientific tinkering goes on before it gets into your coffee. As Heller explains, this involves removing three atoms found in sugar and replacing them with three atoms of the chemical chlorine. Some say that form of chlorine is similar to what's found in pesticides -- though in published reports the manufacturer has denied that claim.

But while all that may not matter much to your taste buds, experts say it takes on a new and more important meaning as plans roll out to include Splenda in a wide variety of treats, including more diet sodas, baked goods, and even processed foods.

"It's not like you're going to be using a teaspoon in your coffee once in a while -- it's going to be everywhere, in everything, which makes it even more important for people to understand what they are and are not getting with this product," says Restuccia.

Also important to note: Experts say we have almost no data on the way in which artificial sweeteners interact with each other -- particularly at high amounts. And that, says Restuccia may come back to haunt us even more.

"As more and more products are being made with artificial sweeteners, there is more likelihood that we will not only be consuming more of them but also mixing different ones, sometimes in a single meal -- and we really have no idea what that means health wise, in the short or the long run," says Restuccia.

What About Other Artificial Sweeteners?

The FDA has approved five artificial sweeteners:

You may be surprised to see saccharin on that list. In the 1970s, the FDA was going to ban saccharin based on the reports of a Canadian study that showed that saccharin was causing bladder cancer in rats. A public outcry kept saccharin on the shelves (there were no other sugar substitutes at that time), but with a warning label that read, "Use of this product may be hazardous to your health. This product contains saccharin which has been determined to cause cancer in laboratory animals."

That warning label is no longer needed, says Ruth Kava, PhD, RD, director of nutrition for the American Council on Science and Health. Further research has shown that male rats have a particular pH factor that predisposes them to bladder cancer. "A lot of things that cause harm in animals don't always cause harm in humans," she says.

Like saccharin, aspartame is another artificial sweetener that -- though thoroughly tested by the FDA and deemed safe for the general population -- has had its share of critics who blame the artificial sweetener for causing everything from brain tumors to chronic fatigue syndrome.

Not so, says Kava.

The only people for whom aspartame is a medical problem are those with the genetic condition known as phenylkenoturia (PKU), a disorder of amino acid metabolism. Those with PKU need to keep the levels of phenylalanine in the blood low to prevent mental retardation as well as neurological, behavioral, and dermatological problems. Since phenylalanine is one of the two amino acids in aspartame, people who suffer from PKU are advised not to use it.

Some people can be sensitive to artificial sweeteners and experience symptoms such as headaches and upset stomach, but otherwise, there is no credible information that aspartame -- or any other artificial sweetener -- causes brain tumors, or any other illness, says registered dietitian Wendy Vida, with HealthPLACE, the health and wellness division of Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield in Pittsburgh.

Kava says that since artificial sweeteners are so much sweeter than sugar, a very small amount is needed to achieve the same sweetness one gets from sugar. "If used normally, the amounts you take in are so minuscule as to be of no concern at all."

Another sweetener receiving much publicity of late is stevia, an herbal sweetening ingredient used in food and beverages by South American natives for many centuries and in Japan since the mid-1970s.

According to Ray Sahelian, MD, author of The Stevia Cookbook, stevia has shown no significant side effects after more than 20 years of use in Japan. "There are no indications at this point from any source that stevia has shown toxicity in humans," says Sahelian, though he agrees that further research is warranted.

Because stevia is not FDA-approved, it cannot be sold as an artificial sweetener; however it can be -- and is -- sold as a dietary supplement. Because these supplements are not regulated as well as those that have received FDA approval, and therefore have no guarantee of purity, Kava is leery about the use of stevia. "This is a product that's just asking for good research studies," she says. "We just don't know enough yet."

With reporting by Carol Sorgen.

SOURCES: Nancy Restuccia, MS, RD, Center for Obesity Surgery at NY Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center in New York City; Samantha Heller, MS, RD, senior clinical nutritionist at NYU Medical Center, New York City; Americans Opt for Sweetness and Lite, FDA Consumer, December, 2004; Use of Nutritive and Non-Nutritive Sweeteners, Position Paper, American Dietetic Association. WebMD Feature Archive: "The Truth on Artificial Sweeteners."

Posted on April 7, 2005 in Splenda Toxicity | Link To This Entry | Comments (8)

Coca-Cola Announces Plans To Launch Coca-Cola Zero

COCA-COLA ANNOUNCES PLANS TO LAUNCH COCA-COLA ZERO
http://www.foodnavigator.com/news/news-ng.asp?n=59006-splenda-sales-boost

Coca-Cola North America has now introduced Coca-Cola Zero, a new zero-calorie cola, to be on the grocery shelves in the United States in June.

"Coca-Cola Zero is exactly what young adults told us they wanted - real Coca-Cola taste, zero calories and a new brand they can call their own," said Dan Dillon, vice president, Diet Portfolio, Coca-Cola North America. "Young people today do not want to compromise on flavor or calories and we think Coca-Cola Zero's taste and personality will appeal to them."

Coca-Cola Zero will be supported by an extensive marketing campaign including television, radio, print, and out-of-home advertising, on-line activation, and sampling programs. "Coca-Cola Zero's personality will be different than any of our other brands, and our marketing will reflect that with some fresh ideas we haven't tried before," said Christine Holland, director of marketing, Coca-Cola Zero. Further details on marketing plans will be made available closer to the introduction.

For the curious who can't wait until June for their first taste of Coca-Cola Zero, a special Coca-Cola Zero sample pack will be listed on eBay, the World's Online Marketplace, in early April. All proceeds from the listing will be donated to charity. The sample pack will come with six unique bottles of Coca-Cola Zero and limited edition Coca-Cola Zero-branded premiums. The charity auction marks the first time The Coca-Cola Company has offered any new product on eBay prior to launching it nationally. For further information on the charity auction visit the Coca-Cola Zero website at www.cocacolazero.com.

Coca-Cola Zero will be sweetened with a blend of aspartame and acesulfame potassium (Ace-k), and will be available in a broad range of package sizes. The launch of Coca-Cola Zero will have no impact on Coca-Cola North America's ongoing support for Diet Coke, America's #1 diet soft drink, as the target audiences are different.

The launch of Coca-Cola Zero continues a year of innovation for Coca-Cola North America, including a range of new product offerings across all beverage categories. Full Throttle energy drink, Coca-Cola with Lime, and Dasani Lemon and Dasani Raspberry flavored waters have already been launched, with Diet Coke sweetened with Splenda as well as Coca-Cola Zero slated for later this year, as well as new packaging for POWERade.

The Coca-Cola Company is the world's largest beverage company. Along with Coca-Cola, recognized as the world's best-known brand, the Company markets four of the world's top five soft drink brands, including Diet Coke, Fanta and Sprite, and a wide range of other beverages, including diet and light soft drinks, waters, juices and juice drinks, teas, coffees and sports drinks. Through the world's largest distribution system, consumers in more than 200 countries enjoy the Company's beverages at a rate exceeding 1 billion servings each day.

For more information about The Coca-Cola Company, please visit our website at www.coca-cola.com. Coca-Cola North America today announced that it will introduce Coca-Cola Zero, a new zero-calorie cola, in the United States in June.

"Coca-Cola Zero is exactly what young adults told us they wanted - real Coca-Cola taste, zero calories and a new brand they can call their own," said Dan Dillon, vice president, Diet Portfolio, Coca-Cola North America. "Young people today do not want to compromise on flavor or calories and we think Coca-Cola Zero's taste and personality will appeal to them."

Coca-Cola Zero will be supported by an extensive marketing campaign including television, radio, print, and out-of-home advertising, on-line activation, and sampling programs. "Coca-Cola Zero's personality will be different than any of our other brands, and our marketing will reflect that with some fresh ideas we haven't tried before," said Christine Holland, director of marketing, Coca-Cola Zero. Further details on marketing plans will be made available closer to the introduction.

For the curious who can't wait until June for their first taste of Coca-Cola Zero, a special Coca-Cola Zero sample pack will be listed on eBay, the World's Online Marketplace, in early April. All proceeds from the listing will be donated to charity. The sample pack will come with six unique bottles of Coca-Cola Zero and limited edition Coca-Cola Zero-branded premiums. The charity auction marks the first time The Coca-Cola Company has offered any new product on eBay prior to launching it nationally. For further information on the charity auction visit the Coca-Cola Zero website at www.cocacolazero.com.

Coca-Cola Zero will be sweetened with a blend of aspartame and acesulfame potassium (ace-k), and will be available in a broad range of package sizes. The launch of Coca-Cola Zero will have no impact on Coca-Cola North America's ongoing support for Diet Coke, America's #1 diet soft drink, as the target audiences are different.

The launch of Coca-Cola Zero continues a year of innovation for Coca-Cola North America, including a range of new product offerings across all beverage categories. Full Throttle energy drink, Coca-Cola with Lime, and Dasani Lemon and Dasani Raspberry flavored waters have already been launched, with Diet Coke sweetened with Splenda as well as Coca-Cola Zero slated for later this year, as well as new packaging for POWERade.

The Coca-Cola Company is the world's largest beverage company. Along with Coca-Cola, recognized as the world's best-known brand, the Company markets four of the world's top five soft drink brands, including Diet Coke, Fanta and Sprite, and a wide range of other beverages, including diet and light soft drinks, waters, juices and juice drinks, teas, coffees and sports drinks. Through the world's largest distribution system, consumers in more than 200 countries enjoy the Company's beverages at a rate exceeding 1 billion servings each day.

For more information about The Coca-Cola Company, please visit our website at http://www.coca-cola.com.

Posted on April 6, 2005 in News | Link To This Entry | Comments (4)

Tate sweetener hides taste of rising costs By Times Online

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,9065-1545889,00.html

March 29, 2005


Tate sweetener hides taste of rising costs By Times Online


Tate & Lyle today said that its flagship sweetener was helping ward off problems in other parts of its business as it reported continued good trading.


Tate said that a strong performance by Splenda sucralose had offset lower sweetener margins in its European food and industrial ingredients business.


Splenda had also helped it to reduce the impact on the group of higher cost export licenses in its European sugars operation.


Tate, which makes sweeteners and other ingredients for food and drink firms, said it was using all its current production capacity to manufacture the high intensity Splenda.


The group said construction work was on track to expand a plant in Alabama in the US and to build a new factory in Singapore for Splenda.


Tate has experienced increasing success with the sweetener, whose exceptional growth helped it boost half-year profits by 9.2 per cent to £130 million in November.


It bought Splenda last year from partners McNeil Nutritionals. Last month, it said Coca-Cola was planning to use the product in a new version of Diet Coke.


Tate runs more than 40 plants and 20 additional production facilities across 28 countries and employs 6,700 people in its subsidiaries and a further 4,800 in joint ventures. Sales in the year to March 31 totaled £3.1 billion.


In a trading update today, the company said its overall trading performance had continued to be good and in line with its expectations.


It said its sugar operations in Canada, Vietnam and Mexico had continued to perform in line with its expectations and its food and industrial ingredients business in the Americas had done well.


Analysts' current consensus is for profits of £238 million in the year to the end of March, compared with £228 million a year earlier.


Andrew Saunders, the Numis analyst, said that the weaker European performance had been well flagged up and that Splenda remained the key to future performance.


Splenda had strong prospects and the company's inability to produce enough Splenda was the main factor holding it back.


"It's well positioned for the long term," Mr Saunders said.


Tate & Lyle shares stood 5p higher at 545.5p in morning trade.

Posted on April 5, 2005 in News | Link To This Entry | Comments (1)

Splenda, the Artificial Sweetener, Adds a Brown Sugar Blend

By MELANIE WARNER

Published: April 4, 2005

Splenda, the popular artificial sweetener, is going brown.

The manufacturer of Splenda, the brand name given to the chemical sweetener sucralose, is releasing a version that can be used as a replacement for brown sugar. It will be called Splenda Brown Sugar Blend.

"People can use it for baking their favorite recipe or sprinkle it on top of cereal the same way they would use brown sugar," said John Leahy, marketing director for Splenda at McNeil Nutritionals, the division of Johnson & Johnson that sells and markets the sweetener.

Made from a blend of regular brown sugar and sucralose that has been colored brown, Splenda's brown sugar will give consumers a 50 percent reduction in calories because a smaller amount will be needed for baking and other purposes.

For instance, if a recipe calls for one cup of brown sugar, Mr. Leahy said, only a half-cup of Splenda brown sugar will be necessary. Splenda brown sugar will come in one-pound and two-pound bags when sales start in September.

The popularity of Splenda took its manufacturers by surprise last year. In November, Tate & Lyle, the British ingredients company that makes sucralose, told its customers that its supply of sweetener would have to be rationed because of high demand. McNeil markets Splenda in the United States under a contract with Tate & Lyle.

Over the last year and a half, nearly every major food company has incorporated sucralose into one or more of its products. Both PepsiCo and Coca-Cola have opted to use the sweetener for new colas. This month, for example, Pepsi is introducing PepsiOne with Splenda and Coke will make a new version of Diet Coke sweetened with Splenda that will be in stores in several months.

Splenda brown sugar is likely to add to the legal debate brewing over Splenda's marketing campaign. The Sugar Association, which represents the sugar industry; Merisant, the maker of the aspartame-based artificial sweetener NutraSweet; and a lawyer in San Diego have filed lawsuits against McNeil contending that Splenda's marketing misleads consumers.

"The average consumer assumes that Splenda is related to sugar," said Howard M. Rubinstein, the San Diego lawyer. "They're exploiting the fear some people have around other artificial sweeteners like NutraSweet and presenting this as a more natural alternative."

Mr. Leahy said that its marketing for the new brown sugar product would "remain consistent with Splenda's existing brand communication."

Neither the Sugar Association, based in Washington, nor Merisant, which is based in Chicago, would comment. If Splenda brown sugar catches on with consumers, it is likely to accelerate the decline of old-fashioned sugar. Sales of both white and brown sugar in the United States have been declining for years. Sales have dropped 10 percent since 1999, Mintel International, a research firm based in Chicago, has reported.

Posted on April 4, 2005 in News | Link To This Entry | Comments (2)

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