Response from Dannon/Splenda

[TheVike]

Thank you for contacting the Dannon Company, Inc. We appreciate your interest in our products and the ingredients we use.

Your specific feedback was shared with those at Dannon involved with developing our products. While we are not clear from your email of the exact study you are referencing, it may be the Duke University study that was partially sponsored by the Sugar Association. Please be assured that the safety of sucralose has been affirmed by more than 100 scientific studies conducted over a 20-year period. These studies have conclusively demonstrated that sucralose is safe for consumption. We believe there is no current generally accepted scientific evidence that may support that this ingredient could kill the probiotics in food products or in humans.

Additionally, in 1990, the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) was the first regulatory body to endorse the safety of sucralose. Among the regulatory bodies that have evaluated the safety of sucralose are the U.S. FDA; the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA); the Health Protection Branch of Health and Welfare Canada; Food Standards Australia/New Zealand; the European Union's Scientific Committee on Food and a host of others in South America and Asia. Studies in animals consuming large doses of sucralose on a daily basis over a lifetime, and studies in humans who consumed high levels of sucralose for up to six months, have shown no harmful effects.

However, for those consumers who prefer not to have sucralose, we offer a variety of products that do not contain sucralose, such as Fruit on the Bottom, Plain Nonfat, Plain Lowfat and Plain Natural, Danimals Crush Cup, Danimals Drinkable, regular Activia, Activia Fiber, Activia Dairy Drink and regular DanActive. When we use sucralose it is specifically listed in the ingredient statement.

Once again, thank you for contacting Dannon. We hope this information is helpful for you. If you have any additional questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to call our toll-free number 1-877-DANNON-US (1-877-326-6668), Monday through Friday, 9 A.M. to 6 P.M. Eastern Time.

Sincerely,