| The History of Sucralose In 1976, sucralose was discovered by researchers working for Tate & Lyle, a large sugar refining company in Great Britain. Four years later, the chemical formula for sucralose was refined by Tate & Lyle, with the help of the healthcare company, Johnson & Johnson. Tate & Lyle sold its patent rights of sucralose to Johnson & Johnson, which formed McNeil Speciality Products Company to commercialize sucralose. In 1991, Canada approved the use of sucralose in food products. In April, 1998, the United States followed by approving sucralose for use in a variety of food products. But, currently sucralose is not approved in most European nations. Today, sucralose is manufactured under the company name of "Splenda" and ranges from 350-1000 times sweeter than table sugar, depending upon the type of food it sweetens. The History of Cyclamate Cyclamate was first synthesized by a University of Illinois student named Michael Sveda in the year 1937. Sveda aaccidentally discovered cyclamate's sweet taste by licking his fingers to pick up a piece of paper. Abbott laboratories bought the patent rights for cyclamate, and combined it with an antibiotic, while retrieving only the cyclamate to get rid of its bitter aftertaste. In the 1950's, diet sodas contained mixtures of cyclamate and saccharin (10 parts cyclamate to 1 part saccharin). In 1969, cyclamate was found to be a carcinogen (cancer-causing substance) in the bladder of rats. So, in 1970, cyclamate was banned for use in the United States. Today, cyclamate is used in over 55 countries, most often in a three-way blend combination as a tabletop sweetener with aspartame, saccharin, and acesulfame K. Next Previous Home |