People may think Johnson & Johnson¹s Splenda®, made from sucralose, has
“come to the rescue” as the newest chemical sugar replacement “made from
real sugar.” People don¹t want to hear that it may be just as dangerous as
aspartame, and this “white knight” of sweeteners is no improvement.
Splenda (sucralose) is created in the lab, using a complex process
involving dozens of chemicals you and I can barely pronounce – let alone
consume. To illustrate the alarming “chemical soup” required to create
sucralose, I have listed here the actual process for producing this
sweetener. I highlighted the chemicals in bold type for emphasis.
According to the Splenda International Patent A23L001-236 and PEP Review
#90-1-4 (July 1991), sucralose is synthesized by this five-step process:
1. sucrose is tritylated with trityl chloride in the presence of
dimethylformamide and 4-methylmorpholine and the tritylated sucrose is then
acetylated with acetic anhydride,
2. the resulting TRISPA (6,1′,6′-tri-O-trityl-penta-O-acetylsucrose) is
chlorinated with hydrogen chloride in the presence of toluene,
3. the resulting 4-PAS (sucrose 2,3,4,3′,4′-pentaacetate) is heated in
the presence of methyl isobutyl ketone and acetic acid,
4. the resulting 6-PAS (sucrose 2,3,6,3′,4′-pentaacetate) is chlorinated
with thionyl chloride in the presence of toluene and benzyltriethylammonium
chloride, and
5. the resulting TOSPA (sucralose pentaacetate) is treated with methanol
(wood alcohol, a poison) in the presence of sodium methoxide to produce
sucralose.
The Splenda marketers stress that sucralose is “made from sugar but is
derived from this sugar through a process that selectively substitutes three
atoms of chlorine for three hydrogen-oxygen groups on the sucrose molecule.”
While this is true, it is a deceptively simple description, implying that
sucralose is just a benign sugar with a touch of chlorine, and thereby, safe
for consumption.
So sucralose becomes a “low-calorie” sugar with a complicated process
that results in Splenda¹s chemical formula: 1,6-dichloro-1,
6-dideoxy-BETA-D-fructofuranosyl-4-chloro-4-deoxy-alpha-D-galactopyranoside.
The FDA states in their Final Report on Splenda that sucralose is
“produced at an approximate purity of ninety-eight percent.” The other two
percent does not have to be reported to the FDA, nor listed as added
ingredients. So what¹s in the other two percent? The chemicals used to
synthesize sucralose in the five-step process:
1. Acetone
2. Acetic acid
3. Acetyl alcohol
4. Acetic anhydride
5. Ammonium chloride
6. Benzene
7. Chlorinated sulfates
8. Ethyl alcohol
9. Isobutyl ketones
10. Formaldehyde
11. Hydrogen chloride
12. Lithium chloride
13. Methanol
14. Sodium methoxide
15. Sulfuryl chloride
16. Trityl chloride
17. Toluene
18. Thionyl chloride
Now you can see why I do not recommend sucralose for pregnancy or for
children, especially after reading this list.
It¹s time to admit that there is no free ticket to eating all the
sugar-free products you desire without paying the high price of harming your
body in the long run. Laboratory chemicals are not the answer.
From Dr. Janet Starr Hull’s website Splenda Exposed:
http://www.splendaexposed.com
This information is based on research from Dr. Janet Starr Hull. For more
information on Splenda, see Dr. Hull¹s newly released book Splenda®: Is It
Safe Or Not? at http://www.issplendasafe.com.
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