Splenda Should Be Sued for False Advertising
Written by Dr. Joseph Mercola
Artificial sweeteners are incredibly popular in the U.S., with consumption jumping by 54 percent among adults and 200 percent among children from 1999 to 2012.1 This means more than 41 percent of adults — and 25 percent of children — are consuming such sweeteners, which include sucralose, brand name Splenda.
Almost always, the motivation for consuming artificial sweeteners is that they're believed by many to be healthier than sugar, or at least to represent the lesser of two evils. In reality, while sugar is easily one of the worst offenders to human health, artificial sweeteners are even worse. But they've earned a reputation for being healthy because of carefully orchestrated PR campaigns created by their makers.
Sucralose, which is manufactured and sold by companies such as Tate & Lyle PLC and Coca-Cola Co., is no exception. With a "sweeten smarter" tagline and claim that it's "safe, sweet and tested," Splenda's website is geared toward letting consumers know why they should "choose Sucralose sweeteners over sugar."2
One of sucralose's key marketing claims has long been that it neither metabolizes nor bioaccumulates in the human body, thus making it a basically inert substance. But recent studies have suggested otherwise, which is why the consumer group U.S. Right to Know (USRTK) has asked the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to investigate.
Study Suggests Sucralose Is Metabolized and Bioaccumulates
In a letter to the FTC, USRTK asked the FTC to investigate whether some of sucralose's marketing claims are deceptive.3 "[S]ucralose is being advertised and marketed as not metabolized or bioaccumulated by humans. The claim may well be deceptive … given research suggesting that sucralose metabolizes and bioaccumulates in rats, and perhaps it does so in humans as well," the letter reads.
The research referred to is a study published in the Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health,4 which aimed to determine if sucralose, an organochlorine artificial sweetener, is metabolized in rat intestines as well as whether it bioaccumulates in rats' fat tissue. To find out, researchers gave 10 rats sucralose daily for 40 days.
They received a dose of 80.4 mg/kg/day, an amount within the range used by toxicology studies submitted for regulatory approval. During the study period, the rats' urine and feces were tested and found to contain acetylated forms of sucralose, specifically two sucralose metabolites that had not previously been reported. The finding suggests that sucralose is, in fact, metabolized. According to the study:5
"These metabolites were present in urine and feces throughout the sucralose dosing period and still detected at low levels in the urine 11 days after discontinuation of sucralose administration and six days after sucralose was no longer detected in the urine or feces.
The finding of acetylated sucralose metabolites in urine and feces do not support early metabolism studies, on which regulatory approval was based, that claimed ingested sucralose is excreted unchanged (i.e., not metabolized)."
What's more, even though sucralose had disappeared from urine and feces two weeks after the administration stopped, it was still detected in fat tissue. "Thus, depuration of sucralose which accumulated in fatty tissue requires an extended period of time after discontinuation of chemical ingestion," the researchers explained, adding:6
"These new findings of metabolism of sucralose in the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) and its accumulation in adipose tissue were not part of the original regulatory decision process for this agent and indicate that it now may be time to revisit the safety and regulatory status of this organochlorine artificial sweetener."
Is Sucralose Deceiving Consumers With False Advertising?
Sucralose is found in thousands of low-calorie foods and beverages worldwide, and in the U.S. has the largest market share for artificial sweeteners and sugar substitutes.7 It first gained regulatory approval in Canada in 1991, with approval in the U.S. occurring in 1998.
The U.S. approval was based on early studies that suggested the majority of sucralose was not absorbed by the gastrointestinal tract but instead was excreted in the feces. As mentioned, this was also a major part of sucralose's PR campaign in convincing the U.S. public that this unnatural sweetener is safe.
But as noted by the featured study, "The conclusions of the published data, from both rats and humans that ingested sucralose is excreted unchanged (i.e., not metabolized) appear to be premature."8
Indeed, Gary Ruskin, codirector of USRTK, said in a news release, "Are food companies deceiving consumers by telling them that sucralose doesn't metabolize or bioaccumulate? That's what we're asking the Federal Trade Commission to figure out."9
"Tate & Lyle's website sucralose.com states that 'SPLENDA® Sucralose is not recognized by the body as a carbohydrate and is not metabolized by the body.' Coca-Cola's website claims that 'The small amount of sucralose that is absorbed is not metabolized, but is rapidly eliminated in urine as sucralose. Sucralose does not accumulate in the body,'" Ruskin said. "These statements and others appear to be contradicted by the study in the Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health."10
It remains to be seen whether the FTC will investigate sucralose's potential deceptive marketing, or whether lawsuits will emerge as a result, but it's clear that additional safety testing is needed.
This is particularly true since the dose used in the study (80.4 mg/kg/day) is sixteenfold greater than the acceptable daily intake (ADI) of 5 mg/kg/day set by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and 5.3 times higher than the ADI of 15 mg/kg/day approved in the European Union, the study noted. What's more, their findings suggest the safe level of intake may actually be lower than what health agencies have set:11
"If one were to apply a 100-fold safety factor to the biological effects reported in the present study, that is, metabolism and bioaccumulation at 80.4 mg/kg/day, this would lower the ADI for sucralose to less than 1 mg/kg/day … Data indicate that it may now be time to revisit the regulatory status of sucralose."
Continued...
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