Sucralose

Sucralose is sold under the name Splenda™. It was discovered in 1976 by Tate & Lyle Ltd., approved for use in Canada (where it is referred to as Splendar) in 1991, and approved by the US FDA in 1998. As of December 2000, it was still under review for use in most European countries.

Sucralose is non-caloric sweetener about 600 times sweeter than sucrose. It is manufactured by chlorinating sugar, which substitutes three chlorine atoms for three hydroxyl groups.

See also The Splenda home page (http://www.sucralose.com/), an article on the potential dangers of sucralose (http://www.mercola.com/2000/dec/3/sucralose_dangers.htm), and the FDA press announcement (http://vm.cfsan.fda.gov/~lrd/tpsucral).