NutraSweet

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NutraSweet is a company that makes and sells aspartame, an artificial sugar substitute. NutraSweet is also the brand name for the sweetener aspartame, which was discovered in 1965 by James M. Schlatter, a chemist working for G.D. Searle & Company. After initial rejection by the FDA due to studies linking it to brain cancer, FDA commissioner Arthur Hayes approved aspartame for human consumption in 1981. In 1983, Hayes quit the FDA under allegations of accepting corporate gifts and joined Searle's public-relations firm as senior medical advisor. In 1985, G.D. Searle & Company was purchased by Monsanto. In this merger, Searle's aspartame business became a separate Monsanto subsidiary, the NutraSweet Company.

Despite ongoing controversy as to whether aspartame is safe or harmful, NutraSweet has gained regulatory approvals permitting its sale in more than 100 countries. Despite losing market share in recent years to sucralose due to the perceived health risks,^[1] the NutraSweet company states that its product is used in over 5,000 products and consumed by some 250 million people worldwide.^[2]

The U.S. patent on aspartame expired in 1992, and the aspartame market is now hotly contested between the NutraSweet Company and other manufacturers, chiefly the Holland Sweetener Company.

In March 2000, Monsanto sold its artificial sweetener division (including NutraSweet) to Merisant.^[3]

Contents 1 Aspartame-containing products made by NutraSweet / Merisant 2 See also 3 References 4 External links

[edit] Aspartame-containing products made by NutraSweet / Merisant

• Canderel - sold in Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and Mexico. It is the leading aspartame-based sweetener in France (where it was launched in 1979) and the United Kingdom (since 1983).^[4]
• Equal - first sold in the United States in 1982,^[5] this brand is also sold in Australia and India.
• EqualSweet - sold in Argentina
• NutraSweet - used as an ingredient in many processed foods, drinks and tablets, in 1997 it also began to be marketed as a table sweetener in the United States.^[6]

[edit] See also

• Aspartame
• Aspartame controversy
• Excitotoxicity
• Sugar substitute

[edit] References

1. ^ John Schmeltzer. "Equal fights to get even as Splenda looks sweet]" (subscription required), Chicago Tribune, 2 December 2004. Retrieved on 2007-07-04. 
2. ^ NutraSweet.com
3. ^ Merisant.com
4. ^ Canderel.uk.com
5. ^ Canderel.uk.com
6. ^ Merisant.com

[edit] External links

• NutraSweet official Web site
• Safety of Artificial Sweetener Called Into Question by MP, The Guardian, UK, December 15, 2005
• The Straight Dope on aspartame
• The Lowdown on Sweet?—article in New York Times
• The Safety of Aspartame, The New York Times, USA, February 21, 2006
• EU Panel: Aspartame Poses No Cancer Risk, May 6, 2006
• Artificial Sweetener Given the All Clear, New Scientist, May 13, 2006
• Aspartame and Its Effects on Health, British Medical Journal

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