***************************************************************
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/1157
Sales volume: saccharin > sucralose > aspartame, Harold Brubaker
timesleader.com 2005.03.20: Murray rmforall

"According to Information Resources Inc., a Chicago company that tracks
scanner data at supermarkets and other stores, less than 3 percent of U.S.
households bought Splenda in 2000; by the end of last year, that figure had
climbed to 20 percent, McNeil's Neufang said.

During the 52-week period ended Feb. 20, U.S. shoppers spent $177 million on
sucralose-based Splenda, compared with $62 million on aspartame-based Equal
and $52 million on saccharin-based Sweet 'N Low. The figures include sales
at supermarkets, drugstores and mass merchandisers, excluding Wal-Mart
Stores Inc.

Marvin Eisenstadt, founder of the company that makes Sweet 'N Low, points
out that consumers still use more packets of his product - the pink
packets - than of Equal's blue packets or Splenda's yellow ones. Sweet 'N
Low, however, is much less expensive than its competitors and therefore does
not match their revenue."

http://www.timesleader.com/mld/timesleader/living/health/11180494.htm

Posted on Sun, Mar. 20, 2005

A bitter battle brews: Splenda's advertising leaves competitors with a bad
taste
By Harold Brubaker Inquirer Staff Writer hbrubaker@...

Depending on whom you ask, the remarkable success of Splenda is either the
result of brilliant marketing, or the work of deceptive advertising.

After just five years on supermarket shelves, the artificial sweetener -
whose advertising slogan is "made from sugar, so it tastes like sugar" - has
found its way into 20 percent of U.S. households and takes in 50 percent of
the money spent on sugar substitutes.

At least one competitor simply applauds McNeil Nutritionals L.L.C. of Fort
Washington, the company that sells Splenda.
"I think Splenda has done an excellent job of marketing," said John W.
Childs, president of J.W. Childs Associates L.P., a Boston-based private
equity firm that owns NutraSweet Co., the largest producer of the artificial
sweetener aspartame. "I tip my hat to them."

But Merisant Co., the Chicago company that produces Equal, an
aspartame-based sweetener, is not nearly so kind. Along with a bevy of sugar
producers and several individuals, it has sued McNeil to force it to stop
associating its product so closely with sugar. McNeil has sued back. The
suits are pending.

"Our contention... is that McNeil has made false claims in its advertising
and packaging of Splenda," said Jeff Leshay, an outside spokesman for
Merisant.

The debate does not center on whether Splenda is made from sugar. It is.
Its intensely sweetening ingredient is sucralose, which is made in a
five-step process in which sucrose - the sugar that comes from sugar beets
and cane sugar - reacts with chlorine.

"Splenda is made from cane sugar," McNeil spokeswoman Monica Neufang said
flatly.

Rather, the crux of the controversy is whether McNeil's advertising implies
that Splenda is natural - even though the company, a unit of Johnson &
Johnson, does not explicitly make that claim.

Critics say it is the product's natural aura that has helped it zoom to the
top of the retail market for table-top artificial sweeteners in the United
States, worth hundreds of millions annually.

The Federal Trade Commission's advertising division is investigating.

The Food and Drug Administration does not regulate the term natural, except
in the case of flavorings. To the FTC, which regulates advertising, the
vagueness of the term does not matter.

"Natural can reasonably mean slightly different things depending on the
context," said Mary Engle, associate director for advertising practices at
the agency.
An advertising message is "deceptive if it is likely to mislead reasonable
consumers to their detriment," she said.

This can be as simple as a consumer's being duped into buying
calcium-enriched Wonder Bread because an advertisement implied that it would
improve the mental capacity of children without backing that up with
scientific evidence, Engle said. The FTC forced Wonder Bread's owners to
stop making such claims in 2002.

Manfred Kroger, a food scientist at Pennsylvania State University, said it
was understandable that McNeil would highlight Splenda's original raw
material. "It has to come from something, and if it comes from sugar, I
would want people to know that."

Scientists at Tate & Lyle P.L.C., which manufactures sucralose in Alabama
and is among the world's largest sugar processors, discovered the substance
in 1976. It has about 600 times the sweetening power of sugar.

Several marketing experts said McNeil was pushing the limits with
advertising that associated Splenda with sugar - but appeared to have
remained on legal ground.

"If it's literally true and there's no deception, I think it's brilliant,"
said Barbara Kahn, a marketing professor at the University of Pennsylvania's
Wharton School.
Kahn is among the consumers who have made Splenda a huge success. "It's my
sweetener of choice," said the former NutraSweet user.

"It's not just taste. Splenda acts like sugar in recipes," she said.
Jeff Dorio, who teaches advertising at Harcum College in Bryn Mawr, said
both McNeil and its critics were splitting hairs, but he said McNeil was
safe legally as along as sugar was used in the manufacturing process.
In any case, McNeil's strategy has worked.

According to Information Resources Inc., a Chicago company that tracks
scanner data at supermarkets and other stores, less than 3 percent of U.S.
households bought Splenda in 2000; by the end of last year, that figure had
climbed to 20 percent, McNeil's Neufang said.

During the 52-week period ended Feb. 20, U.S. shoppers spent $177 million on
sucralose-based Splenda, compared with $62 million on aspartame-based Equal
and $52 million on saccharin-based Sweet 'N Low. The figures include sales
at supermarkets, drugstores and mass merchandisers, excluding Wal-Mart
Stores Inc.

Marvin Eisenstadt, founder of the company that makes Sweet 'N Low, points
out that consumers still use more packets of his product - the pink
packets - than of Equal's blue packets or Splenda's yellow ones. Sweet 'N
Low, however, is much less expensive than its competitors and therefore does
not match their revenue.

Eisenstadt, who has been active in the artificial-sweetener industry since
the 1950s and had his share of legal battles with NutraSweet's owners in the
1980s and 1990s, is staying out of the courts this time.

The market, he said, is big enough for all the players - and it is still
growing.
"I think Merisant is making a mistake. I think the sugar industry is making
a mistake," Eisenstadt said. "We have a smaller share of a bigger market."

Now Pinch-Hitting for Sugar

The five artificial sweeteners approved by the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration:

Sweetener Times sweeter than sugar Available since Raw materials
Saccharin----------300 1880s Synthetic
Aspartame----------180 1970s Amino acids
Acesulfame K-------200 1980s Synthetic
Sucralose----------600 1990s Sugar, chlorine
Neotame----------8,000 2000s Modified aspartame

SOURCE: On Food and Cooking by Harold McGee.

Contact staff writer Harold Brubaker at 215-854-4651 or
hbrubaker@...
*************************************************************

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/1149
Neotame: The Next-Generation Sweetener, Indra Prakash et al, Food
Technology 2002 July 56(7): 36-40, 41. free full plain text, 6 pages,
without figures: methanol, formaldehyde, formic acid toxicity,
Murray 2005.01.24 rmforall

[ Comments by Rich Murray are in square bracketts.

Neotame quickly releases its 8% by weight methanol component into the human
body upon ingestion.

At a typical concentration of 20 ppm ( milligrams per liter = milligrams per
kilogram ), a liter of diet soda would release 1.6 mg methanol, enough to
trigger migraine and other symptoms in some people sensitized to aspartame
and other methanol, formaldehyde, and folic acid sources.

If a third of the methanol remains in the body as the inevitable cumulative
toxic products, formaldehyde and formic acid, that would be 0.5 mg daily.


http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/1153
Opinion of the Scientific Committee on Food on sucralose, European Union
2000.09.07 25 pages plain text: Murray 2005.02.08 rmforall

[ Comments by Rich Murray are in square bracketts. Only 4 of the 59
citations were to studies published in open mainstream, peer-reviewed
research journals.

At the end of this post I provide reviews about flaws in research sponsored
by vested interests. Surely, vested interests have much to gain by having
their research qualify for mainstream research journals. ]

http://europa.eu.int/comm/food/fs/sc/scf/out68_en.pdf

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/1152
reply to Ferne Hudson, Tate & Lyle PLC, re Splenda (sucralose) policy:
Murray 2005.02.08 rmforall

[ Selections ]

I have been recommending sucralose for six years as a much safer alternative
to aspartame. However, there are substantial deficiencies in the research
for the safety of sucralose, including disturbing findings in animal
studies, reviewed officially in 2000, as well as reasonable doubts about any
research controlled by vested interests.

This weekend I found a large, competent website by Mr. Mark J. Yannone, a
programmer, who in email on 2001.01.22 reported that his seizures were cured
by giving up aspartame. Aspartame and sucralose are only a small fraction
of the issues listed on his voluminous site.

http://www.foodanddiet.com/ foodanddiet@... Mark J. & Cherie Yannone
1421 E Charleston Ave, Phoenix AZ 85022
Phone 602-569-9632 Fax 602-569-9635

http://www.foodanddiet.com/NewFiles/splenda-story-list.html lists an
ever-growing archive, now 236 reports in a year, of posts about symptoms
from sucralose -- about 10% of the posts said they had no problems. The
sophistication, size, organization, and clarity of this site far exceeds
what aspartame activists offered six years ago, as does the amount of user
information.

Here are the first titles:

'I woke up with my very first migraine ever...
There has never been any negative side effect...
I have been headache free for two weeks now...
Using Splenda for a year now with no problem...
Uncontrollable bouts with gas...
I'll continue with the Splenda...
Hot and cold flashes, but also depressed for no reason...
I plan to throw out the entire box...
It IS the sucralose making me ill...
At no point would I have ever put two-and-two together...
We recently changed our way of eating...
I can relate to the symptoms I have read...
I know I feel better now, and I know how I was feeling then...
Splenda was like a kick in the stomach...
I felt so terrible I was not even able to go to work...
My focus seems to be returning...
I'm still in awe of my experience...
I have had a whopping headache for hours now...
I had one encounter with the use of Splenda...
Splenda is not so splendid...
I truly cannot attribute negative side effects to the sweetener...
I can't believe that I have been poisoning myself ...
I also stopped losing weight after adding sucralose...
I found myself spinning into a dark depression...
I started feeling "not myself"...
I have only used Splenda a few times...
I noticed incredible fatigue and sleepiness...
I am not happy with the results...
I didn't even realize it might be the Splenda ...
I had the worst feeling...
Two weeks ago, my wife decided to use Splenda ...
What a terrible mistake!...
I have had no side effects at all...
I decided to try Splenda again...
I wanted to pass along my story about sucralose...
I started using Splenda in small doses..."

"Based upon information supplied to us by our visitors, we note the
following possible side effects from consumption of sucralose:

bloating
abdominal pain
gas
nausea
diarrhea
headaches
migraines (severe headaches)
heart palpitations (fluttering)
shortness of breath
depression or overwhelming anxiety
spaced-out or drugged sensation
joint pain
dizziness"

I notice that these are also common symptoms reported by aspartame reactors.

He provides these links:

http://www.holisticmed.com/splenda/

http://proliberty.com/observer/20031112.htm

http://www.laleva.cc/food/splenda.htm

http://www.drmirkin.com/nutrition/N243.html

http://www.vegsource.com/talk/sugarfree/messages/56420.html

"It should be noted that little positive information will be found on these
websites. If you are interested in reviewing the benefits of Splenda, we
recommend a visit to their website at http://www.splenda.com "
***************************************************************

http://www.HolisticMed.com/aspartame mgold@...
Aspartame Toxicity Information Center Mark D. Gold also Co-Moderator
12 East Side Drive #2-18 Concord, NH 03301 603-225-2110
http://www.holisticmed.com/aspartame/abuse/methanol.html
"Scientific Abuse in Aspartame Research"

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/957
safety of aspartame Part 1/2 12.4.2: EC HCPD-G SCF:
Murray 2003.01.12 rmforall EU Scientific Committee on Food, a whitewash

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/1045
http://www.holisticmed.com/aspartame/scf2002-response.htm
Mark Gold exhaustively critiques European Commission Scientific
Committee on Food re aspartame ( 2002.12.04 ): 59 pages, 230 references


Finally, an intripid and much published team in Japan has found DNA damage
in 8 tissues from single non-lethal doses of aspartame (near-significant
high levels of DNA damage in 5 tissues) and many other additives in groups
of just 4 mice:

Mutat Res 2002 Aug 26; 519(1-2): 103-19
The comet assay with 8 mouse organs: results with 39 currently used food
additives.
Sasaki YF, Kawaguchi S, Kamaya A, Ohshita M, Kabasawa K, Iwama K,
Taniguchi K, Tsuda S.
Laboratory of Genotoxicity, Faculty of Chemical and Biological
Engineering, Hachinohe National College of Technology,
Tamonoki Uwanotai 16-1, Aomori 039-1192, Japan.
yfsasaki-c@... s.tsuda@...

We determined the genotoxicity of 39 chemicals currently in use as food
additives.
They fell into six categories-dyes, color fixatives and
preservatives, preservatives, antioxidants, fungicides, and sweeteners.

We tested groups of four male ddY mice once orally with each additive at
up to 0.5xLD(50) or the limit dose (2000 mg/kg) and performed the comet
assay on the glandular stomach, colon, liver, kidney, urinary bladder, lung,
brain, and bone marrow 3 and 24 h after treatment.

Of all the additives, dyes were the most genotoxic.
Amaranth, Allura Red, New Coccine, Tartrazine, Erythrosine, Phloxine, and
Rose Bengal induced dose-related DNA damage in the glandular stomach, colon,
and/or urinary bladder.
All seven dyes induced DNA damage in the gastrointestinal organs at a low
dose (10 or 100 mg/kg).

Among them, Amaranth, Allura Red, New Coccine, and Tartrazine induced
DNA damage in the colon at close to the acceptable daily intakes (ADIs).

Two antioxidants (butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) and butylated
hydroxytoluene (BHT)), three fungicides (biphenyl, sodium
o-phenylphenol, and thiabendazole), and four sweeteners (sodium
cyclamate, saccharin, sodium saccharin, and sucralose) also induced DNA
damage in gastrointestinal organs.

Based on these results, we believe that more extensive assessment of
food additives in current use is warranted. PMID: 12160896

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/934
24 recent formaldehyde toxicity [Comet assay] reports:
Murray 2002.12.31 rmforall

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/935
Comet assay finds DNA damage from sucralose, cyclamate, saccharin in
mice: Sasaki YF & Tsuda S Aug 2002: Murray 2003.01.01 rmforall
[ Also borderline evidence, in this pilot study of 39 food additives,
using test groups of 4 mice, for DNA damage from for stomach, colon,
liver, bladder, and lung 3 hr after oral dose of 2000 mg/kg aspartame--
a very high dose. Methanol is the only component of aspartame that can lead
to DNA damage. ]

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/961
genotoxins, Comet assay in mice: Ace-K, stevia fine; aspartame poor;
sucralose, cyclamate, saccharin bad: Y.F. Sasaki Aug 2002:
Murray 2003.01.27 rmforall [A detailed look at the data] ]

J Toxicol Sci. 2002 Dec; 27 Suppl 1: 1-8.
[Genotoxicity studies of stevia extract and steviol by the comet assay]
[Article in Japanese]
Sekihashi K, Saitoh H, Sasaki Y. yfsasaki-c@...
Safety Research Institute for Chemical Compounds Co., Ltd., 363-24 Shin-ei,
Kiyota-ku, Sapporo 004-0839, Japan.

The genotoxicity of steviol, a metabolite of stevia extract, was evaluated
for its genotoxic potential using the comet assay.
In an in vitro study, steviol at 62.5, 125, 250, and 500 micrograms/ml did
not damage the nuclear DNA of TK6 and WTK1 cells in the presence and absence
of S9 mix. In vivo studies of steviol were conducted by two independent
organizations.
Mice were sacrificed 3 and 24 hr after one oral administration of steviol at
250, 500, 1000, and 2000 mg/kg.
DNA damage in multiple mouse organs was measured by the comet assay as
modified by us.
After oral treatment, stomach, colon, liver, kidney and testis DNA were not
damaged.
The in vivo genotoxicity of stevia extract was also evaluated for its
genotoxic potential using the comet assay.
Mice were sacrificed 3 and 24 hr after oral administration of stevia extract
at 250, 500, 1000, and 2000 mg/kg.
Stomach, colon and liver DNA were not damaged.
As all studies showed negative responses, stevia extract and steviol are
concluded to not have DNA-damaging activity in cultured cells and mouse
organs. PMID: 12533916


http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/857
www.dorway.com: original documents and long reviews of flaws in
aspartame toxicity research: Murray 2002.07.31 rmforall

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/858
Samuels: Strong: Roberts: Gold: flaws in double-blind studies re
aspartame and MSG toxicity: Murray 2002.08.01 rmforall

"Survey of aspartame studies: correlation of outcome and funding
sources," 1998, unpublished: http://www.dorway.com/peerrev.html
Walton found 166 separate published studies in the peer reviewed
medical literature, which had relevance for questions of human safety.
The 74 studies funded by industry all (100%) attested to aspartame's
safety, whereas of the 92 non-industry funded studies, 84 (91%)
identified a problem. Six of the seven non-industry funded studies
that were favorable to aspartame safety were from the FDA, which
has a public record that shows a strong pro-industry bias.
Ralph G. Walton, MD, Prof. of Clinical Psychology, Northeastern Ohio
Universities, College of Medicine, Dept. of Psychiatry, Youngstown,
OH 44501, Chairman, The Center for Behavioral Medicine,
Northside Medical Center, 500 Gypsy Lane, P.O. Box 240 Youngstown,
OH 44501 330-740-3621 rwalton193@...
http://www.neoucom.edu/DEPTS/Psychiatry/walton.htm

http://www.dorway.com/upipart1.txt
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/262
aspartame expose 96K Oct 1987 Part 1/3: Gregory Gordon, UPI reporter:
Murray 2000.07.10 rmforall

http://www.dorway.com/enclosur.html
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/53
aspartame history Part 1/4 1964-1976: Gold: Murray 1999.11.06 rmforall

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/928
revolving door, Monsanto, FDA, EPA: NGIN: Murray 2002.12.23 rmforall

http://www.truthinlabeling.org/ Truth in Labeling Campaign [MSG]
Adrienne Samuels, PhD The toxicity/safety of processed
free glutamic acid (MSG): a study in suppression of information.
Accountability in Research 1999; 6: 259-310. 52-page review
P.O. Box 2532 Darien, Illinois 60561
858-481-9333 adandjack@...

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/927
Donald Rumsfeld, 1977 head of Searle Corp., got aspartame FDA approval:
Turner: Murray 2002.12.23 rmforall

A very detailed, highly credible account of the dubious approval process for
aspartame in July, 1981 is part of the just released two-hour documentary
"Sweet Misery, A Poisoned World: An Industry Case Study of a Food Supply
In Crisis" by Cori Brackett: cori@...
http://www.soundandfuryproductions.com/ 520-624-9710
2301 East Broadway, Suite 111 Tucson, AZ 85719

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartame/messages
Aspartame Victims Support Group Edward Bryant Holman, Chief Moderator
799 members, 18,183 posts in a public, searchable archive
http://www.presidiotex.com/aspartame/ bryanth@...

http://www.HolisticMed.com/aspartame mgold@...
Aspartame Toxicity Information Center Mark D. Gold also Co-Moderator
12 East Side Drive #2-18 Concord, NH 03301 603-225-2110
http://www.holisticmed.com/aspartame/abuse/methanol.html
"Scientific Abuse in Aspartame Research"

http://www.sweetpoison.com/ Janet Starr Hull, PhD, CN jshull@...

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/1092
Janet Starr Hull, who also had Graves disease in 1991, told Justin Dumais to
quit aspartame: Murray 2004.06.12 rmforall

http://www.aspartamesafety.com marystod@...
Mary Nash Stoddard, Founder
Aspartame Consumer Safety Network and Pilot Hotline [1987-2004]
P.O. Box 2001 Frisco, TX 75034 1-214-387-4001 [ 25 miles N of Dallas ]

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/957
safety of aspartame Part 1/2 12.4.2: EC HCPD-G SCF:
Murray 2003.01.12 rmforall EU Scientific Committee on Food, a whitewash

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/1045
http://www.holisticmed.com/aspartame/scf2002-response.htm
Mark Gold exhaustively critiques European Commission Scientific
Committee on Food re aspartame ( 2002.12.04 ): 59 pages, 230 references

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/1131
genotoxicity of aspartame in human lymphocytes 2004.07.29 full plain text,
Rencuzogullari E et al, Cukurova University, Adana, Turkey 2004 Aug: Murray
2004.11.06 rmforall

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/1088
Murray, full plain text & critique:
chronic aspartame in rats affects memory, brain cholinergic receptors, and
brain chemistry, Christian B, McConnaughey M et al, 2004 May:
2004.06.05 rmforall

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/1067
eyelid contact dermatitis by formaldehyde from aspartame, AM Hill & DV
Belsito, Nov 2003: Murray 3.30.4 rmforall [ 150 KB ]
***************************************************************

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/1143
methanol (formaldehyde, formic acid) disposition: Bouchard M et al, full
plain text, 2001: substantial sources are degradation of fruit pectins,
liquors, aspartame, smoke: Murray 2005.03.19 rmforall

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/1155
continuing aspartame debate in British Medical Journal, John Biffra, Bob
Dowling, Nick Finer, Ian J Gordon: Murray 2005.02.09 rmforall

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/1140
EPA Preliminary Remedial Goals, PRGs, 2003 Oct, air and tap water --
methanol, formaldehyde, formic acid -- not mentioned is methanol from
aspartame, dark wines and liquors: Murray 2004.11.20 rmforall

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/1141
Nurses Health Study can quickly reveal the extent of aspartame (methanol,
formaldehyde, formic acid) toxicity: Murray 2004.11.21 rmforall

Rich Murray, MA Room For All rmforall@...
1943 Otowi Road, Santa Fe, New Mexico 87505 USA 505-501-2298
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/messages
148 members, 1,157 posts in a public searchable archive
***************************************************************