For those of us that really enjoy Splenda as a sugar substitute in drinks and such, I just heard on the news it has been pulled from all the shelves. They are saying "it is potentially dangerous"...hmmmmmmm why is it that everything we like is potentially dangerous? I wonder if they are including the soft drinks and everything else that is sweetened with Splenda. It has been the best substitute for sugar I've found. I can't even begin to imagine what health problems they are going to say it is causing. They merely stated it has been pulled from the shelves. Bummer...major Bummer!!

CNN is reporting that "Citizens for Health" wants it pulled. But they want a lot of other stuff pulled to.

Its not pulled yet.

Yes, that's what I'm seeing. A group wants the FDA to pull it but I doubt that will happen anytime soon.

Ok...honestly..splenda is "made from sugar" and they use, of all things, chlorine to split the sugar particles....not exactly good stuff....that being said, I'm standing by my little yellow packets!!!!

It hasn't been pulled here..thank the lord...can't we just have one thing that is good and is good for us besides broccoli...i mean i love broccoli, but it just doesn't mix up in my tea and coffee very well. :-)

Splenda has not been pulled off shelves. It has not been banned. It has not been shown to have any health effects at all.

ONE lobbying group has asked the FDA to ban Splenda because they claim it may cause stomach pain:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060403/hl_nm/sweetener_dc_1

Some info about "Citizens for Health," the lobbying group that is trying to get Splenda banned:

- It is primarily a lobbying organization for the dietary supplement industry.

- The leaders are reportedly closely affiliated with a cult (the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and his followers.)

- One source has linked them to Earth First! (ecoterrorism group) and reports they are avidly anti biotech.

In short, I doubt this group has a hope in Hades of getting the FDA to do anything at all. They have no credibility in the scientific community. What they DO have is a good publicist, apparently...

Splenda is made by McNeil...which is owned by J&J. Very very proactive in terms of consumer safety... remember when they pulled all the Tylenol off the shelves back in the 80s???

Went to splenda.com...and found this. Don't think Splenda is going anywhere anytime soon:

McNeil Nutritionals, LLC Highlights Strong Clinical Database that Supports Safety of SPLENDA® Sweetener Products

FORT WASHINGTON, Pa., (April 4, 2006) — McNeil Nutritionals, LLC is committed to developing innovative nutritional products, such as the SPLENDA® Sweetener Products, that provide important health and lifestyle benefits to consumers. The company is extremely proud of the strong clinical database that supports the safety of sucralose, the sweetening ingredient in all SPLENDA® Sweetener Products, and we recognize that this strong safety evidence is one of the many reasons why SPLENDA® No Calorie Sweetener has been the number-one low-calorie sweetener in the U.S. marketplace for more than three years.

The safety of sucralose is well documented in more than 100 scientific studies conducted over a 20-year period. In addition, sucralose and, specifically, the safety data on sucralose, has been reviewed by the U.S. food and Drug Administration (FDA) and other national regulatory agencies, as well as by international health authorities such as the World Health Organization, and found to be safe for use by all consumers, including children, pregnant women and people with diabetes.

Sucralose has been available in international markets for more than 13 years. The FDA first approved the use of sucralose as a nonnutritive sweetener in 1998 and expanded this approval in 1999. Currently, sucralose is permitted for use in over 80 countries and it has never been required to carry any safety information or warning statements on its labeling.

Yesterday's press conference by competitors is the latest effort to make false and misleading statements designed to injure the reputation and goodwill of the SPLENDA® Brand and our company. These inaccuracies about the SPLENDA® Sweetener Products are a great disservice to the millions of consumers who safely use and enjoy the products every day.

Also see http://news.independent.co.uk/business/news/article355837.ece

"The company pointed out that a press conference to launch Citizens for Health's petition had been promoted by Qorvis, the public relations firm hired by the Sugar Association to set up the website and to run the anti-sucralose campaign. The petition is "another tactic in a long chain of orchestrated events led by organisations representing bodies with clear commercial interests", a Tate & Lyle spokesman said.

Mr Turner said Citizens for Health had not been funded by the Sugar Association, although it did support the use of sugar and other natural products in preference to artificial sweeteners. The FDA said it would review Citizens for Health's petition, which opens up a regulatory front in the increasingly bitter marketing battle over sucralose."

I also heard on the news that Splenda will likely be pulled from the shelves but it was still available in the grocery store here in New York this afternoon. I did a search and found the following, http://www.dorway.com/badnews.html

Elisabeth :ban:

I searched www.Snopes.com - a website the debunks or confirms rumors just like this one. Snopes doesn't have anything relating specifically to Splenda. I don't know if that's a confirmation or a denial. No help here I'm afraid.

WOW! i didnt hear that either. I too am a splenda only person. i was a diet mt dew junkie and splenda saved my butt. im gonna research this and see what i see. not that i doubt anyone, just like to read things so i can understand. i do know there is something out there called stevia. has anyone heard of that? my sis was telling me thats what she uses and loves it. dont know too much about that one tho.

I don't know if we should pull it if it's dangerous, but at least put a big warning label on it. Cigarettes are harmful but they're still available. Can't say I'm a big Splenda eater, though. I either have to stop eating it or eat the real thing. Eating Splenda causes me to crave sugar WAY more than eating actual sugar does.

I read that article about Splenda not being dangerous, but I've read other articles that seem to have evidence to the contrary. I just can't imagine that it's good for you, though. Seems like an awful lot of these engineered foods have something seriously wrong with them. But I know how we come to rely on these products.

Of course they are banding it, we love it too much. The problem with artifical sweetners is that the body does not know what to do with them. I lost too many brain cells with Aspartame and now they want to take my Splenda. I've also heard of an organic sweetner, Stevia, sold at health food stores but called a "dietary supplement". I've heard several people talk about before and say all good about it, but has anyone tried it before. Here's a link to try it out.

http://www.stevia.net/

If ABC was premature in their report then I am happy and tomorrow will be stocking up big time. That's pretty stupid "people have complained it gives them stomach pain"....well let the people who get the pains quit taking the Splenda, but don't make all of us who have no problems suffer for a few. I hope the report was wrong. This is rediculous.

Thats what really irks me big time. I am a smoker and i pray for the day they stop selling them. Thats the only way I think I will make it giving up. All these things they pull because they MAY cause problems but it has been proven time and time again beyond a doubt that smoking KILLS you but they dont ban them or remove them...WHY?? I dont get it.

WOW! i didnt hear that either. I too am a splenda only person. i was a diet mt dew junkie and splenda saved my butt. im gonna research this and see what i see. not that i doubt anyone, just like to read things so i can understand. i do know there is something out there called stevia. has anyone heard of that? my sis was telling me thats what she uses and loves it. dont know too much about that one tho.

I tried Stavia years ago but couldn't stand the taste.

Roberta

Anything artificial is just that, not natural and could possibly cause harm...They won't pull it from the shelf because the company pays the FDA too much and the company is making way too much from this product. Like everyone says it is in everything now. It won't be going anywhere unless there are deaths confirmed from it and still then, it would have to be proven. I say stick to the real thing! I'm such a sugar addict, HA! I'm sure tons of sugar in your diet won't harm you like splenda...oh, what's that, it causes obesity which can lead to death, holy crap! We're all gonna die!! Dango crazies out there, I swear! This was interesting though that they put it on the news and caused such a stir!

Oh yeah, Sams Club here I come, gotta load up on the Splenda. Just ran out yesterday and had to use sugar in my coffee, that was rrrrufff.

I'll give up my Splenda when the size of my butt is no longer the dictating factor in my life as to wheither I live or die.

How about the size of your liver being a dictating factor in your life? Check out this article that I just read:

http://www.womentowomen.com/nutritionandweightloss/splenda.asp?id=1&campaignno=artificialsweeteners&adgroup=splenda&keywords=splenda

I am an avid Splenda user as well. It's in the sugar canister instead of sugar. But as soon as I finish typing this, I'm going to go dump it into the garbage. It's mostly chlorine!! The reason it has no calories is because the body cannot absorb the sucralose.. but it CAN and DOES absorb the chlorine! Ack!!

I don't care if they take it off the shelf. I'm not buying it anymore. What good will it do me to reduce my calories if I end up with life threatening liver problems??