Pharmacia Corp. previously known as Merisant or Monsanto Corporation, and previously owned by G D Searle Company AND Nutrasweet Co. Being charged for tainting food and water

Merisant/Monsanto declared bankrupt but got a court approval to finance PureVia!

The court approved a $20m debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing facility from Wayzata Investment Partners which Merisant secured in early Jan 2009.

Now they are renamed and known as Pharmacia Corp. now in collaboration with PepsiCo Americas Beverages, producing Purevia.

In collaboration with Whole Earth Sweetener Company, a subsidiary of Merisant Company (approved for stevia table-top sweetener is USA that is granular but dissolves easily; not approved in Europe yet).

Currently working with Solae to create genetically-modified soya beans, soy sauce, etc!

SinoSweet Co., Ltd. and Changzhou Kelong Chemicals Co. Ltd (Jiangsu, China) also manufacturer aspartame.

CEO: Paul R. Block (Pharmacia Corp. , Merisant and Whole Earth Sweetener Company)

Founder of the-then newly formed Monsanto: John F. Queeny

CEO for Purevia: Massimo d’Amore

Senior Vice President for Purevia: Lou Imbrogno (Worldwide Technical Operations)

Chief Executive for Pepsico: Indra Nooyi

President: Bill DeFer (Nutrasweet)

Other key personnel: Robert Shapiro

Pharmacia Corp. also creates prescription drugs like: CELEBREX® (celecoxib capsules), CAMPTOSAR® (irinotecan hydrochloride injection), XALATAN® (latanoprost ophthalmic solution), DETROL®LA (tolterodine tartrate extended release capsules), and ZYVOX™ (linezolid injection, tablets, and for oral suspension)

Aspartame under different brands: Nutrasweet®, Spoonfuls, Benevia, Neotame®, Equal®, Twinsweet® (has aspartame and acesulfame), Sugar Twin® (blue box), Sweetmate (aspartame + saccharin), Sweetex, and E951, and Canderel®.

Nutrasweet® changed some of its products brand name
to Benevia; later J.W. Childs Associates
bought over Nutrasweet in May 2000. Benevia’s logo symbol is a hummingbird.

Aspartame is also in InstaSweet (another sugar substitute), and Tropicana Slim and Sweet Thing (marketed by Savannah Foods & Industries, Inc, under product name Dixie Crystals Sweet Thing Sugar Substitute).
Japanese beverages with Aspartame

Aspartame is also produced and marketed by Ajinomoto.

Foodessentials.com has an excellent list of chewing gums that has aspartame.

Neotame is found mostly in processed foods and is not sold as a table-top sweetener.

PureVia™ (no Aspartame but has Stevia which they call ‘Rebaudioside’ or ‘Reb-A’ and erythritol, isomaltulose). Purevia is in SoBe Lifewater with 3 flavours (Tropical Pomegranate, Strawberry-Kiwi and Orange-Tangerine) and Trop50 (reduced-calorie orange juice).

My Comments:

I don’t fully understand how a food can be patented unless someone actually created something no one else in the world has. (You would know if a product is patented by its ® symbol.) That smacks very close to what synthetics may be in the product for it to be patented (not to be confused with TM or trademark).

Discovered in 1965, Aspartame was banned for very good reasons for 16 years, until Donald Rumsfield (who was once with G D Searle), paved ways for the aspartame ban to be lifted. More on how aspartame got approved.

The problem (with Truvia and Purevia) is they may come from natural sources, but it is an extracted and modified chemical when it comes out "the other end".

There are numerous scientific studies related to products such as Truvia that shows it may lead to calcium, potassium and phosphate loss with calcification (and lesions) in the kidneys (just like Splenda) and
bowel alterations.

What is in their "natural flavor" in PureVia?
To mask bitter taste of Reb-A!

And erythritol in Purevia? It’s the second-best sugar alcohol after Xylitol (aka Xylose, a chemically-extracted wood sugar). There’s been some debate whether sugar alcohols that are chemically made is at all safe. Although erythritol is naturally occuring in fruits, chemically-made sugar alcohol is a potential seizure trigger (epileptic fits) and more.

Dr. John McDougall said,"Sugar alcohols are incompletely absorbed from the gut; as a result, they can cause a smaller rise in blood sugar, decrease dental caries, and supply undigested sugars to the bowel bacteria for their food, but they may also lead to intestinal gas, cramps, and diarrhea."

Chemically-made erythritol draws water into the intestines, leading to fermentation by undesirable bacteria. Can also cause
acid reflux and an increased risk of cancer of the larynx.

Artificial erythritol is hydrogenated starch hydrolysates (HSH), a sugar alcohol also known as "polyols".

Fats and oils were hydrogenated (trans fat) for a long time before we became aware of the detrimental effects of this practice. If anyone has bothered to specifically research the effects of hydrogenating sugars, that information is not readily available at of this time.

Other known sugar alcohol known to have a laxative effect:
xylitol (aka xylose), sorbitol, and mannitol, mannitol, lactitol (from
lactose), and maltitol. Sorbitol is also known as Glucitol or Arlex. Sorbitol
and Mannitol are considered polyhydric alcohols.

Isomaltulose is an enzyme from sucrose
(another artificial sugar) .

THE IRONIC THING!

Reb-A (or Rebiana) are Terpenoid Glycosides. is a ‘purified’
but synthesized component of the South American Stevia plant. This means
that Stevia leaves were processed with Erythritol and treated with Reb-A.
It is NOT natural and therefore may be dangerous.

In a recent study, Truvia and Purevia raised red flags:

Dr. Arthur M. Evangelista, PhD, Director of Operations &
Research, Public Health & Medical Fraud Research Cooperative revealed test results,"More urinary calcium and potassium are released into the blood stream from moderate intake of Erythritol (PROCESSED REBIANA). And this increase accumulates in the kidneys, causing calcification and lesions. Calcium loss from kidneys in the long run causes renal lesions and kidney failure.

We found testing which showed weight changes in animal kidneys upon examination, with developing lesions….development of an enlarged cecum, a small pouch attached to the ascending large colon, near the ilio-cecal valve in the intestine. This seems to make sense due to the fact that unmetabolized
and artificially processed additives may aggravate or instigate inflammation of the cecum."

With natural Stevia available in the market, why would anyone destroy this perfectly wholesome, safe natural sweetener by processing it, using chemicals and other additives in the finished production process?

What FDA approved for use is an extract of Stevia and not STEVIA itself! The USA’s FDA approved Reb-A and Erythritol.

USA’s FDA said,"Stevia was not approved as a food additive by U.S. regulators, but the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued letters to the companies on Wednesday saying it had no objections to their sweeteners, which are derived from the plant."

Beverages Industry can do anything they please but FDA has no intention of approving something safe for the general public.
FDA don’t want to displease the powerful Aspartame industry famed to take care of those who defend their poison.

And let’s not forget that soda drinks are high in PHOSPHORIC ACID. It is a high corrosive!

Monsanto (now known as Pharmacia Corp.) in the news

In year Jan 2002, a group of organic farmers filed a class-action lawsuit against seed giants Monsanto and Aventis for damage they allege was caused by genetically modified canola and to stop the introduction of genetically modified wheat. The farmers also say introduction of modified wheat would doom their farms. The claimants are seeking millions in damages for what they allege is the loss of canola as an organic crop in Saskatchewan. – The Canadian Press

In Sept 2004, A Racketeering (RICO) complaint against NutraSweet, the American Diabetes Association and Monsanto was filed in the US District Court for Northern California. The defendants are charged with manufacturing and marketing a deadly neurotoxin unfit for human consumption, while they assured the
pubic that aspartame (also known as NutraSweet/Equal) contaminated products
are safe and healthful, even for children and pregnant women.

Monsanto has agreed to pay a $1.5m (£799,000) fine for bribing
an Indonesian official. One of Monsanto’semployees paid the senior official
in a bid to avoid environmental impact studies being conducted on its
cotton. In addition to the penalty, Monsanto also agreed to 3years’ close
monitoring of its business practices by the American authorities. Full Story

The gigantic biotech corporation Monsanto is threatening to destroy the agricultural bio-diversity which has served mankind for thousands of years.

DAESANG Europe B.V., part of DAESANG Corporation in Seoul, South Korea, bought over PT Miwon Indonesia.which have subsididaries Miwon Company and Sewon Company.

Has a factory in Gresik, East Java.

Privately-held Cargill Inc, in partnership
with the Coca-Cola Company and Monell Chemical Senses Center

Cargill was granted regulatory approval for the use and distribution of Zerose erythritol marketed as Zerose, in China with no restrictions on the product’s applications, and also in Thailand. Thai partner is GMP.

President of Cargill’s Health and Nutrition unit: Marcelo Montero

Corporate Vice President of Cargill’s research and development: Chris Mallett

Head of Marketing: Henry Hussel

VP-hydration at Pepsi-Cola North America Beverages: Rick Gomez

Asia Pacific cum regional sales manager for Japan & South Korea: Takafumi Kato

Marketing & Communication Manager: Janie Wong,

General Manager: Paitoon Uthaisang

Had added aspartame to their line of soda drinks previously.

Truvia
(no Aspartame but has extract of Stevia, which they call quot;Rebiana" and has erythritol)

Odwalla juice line (Stevia-infused Sprite drinks): four flavours, Vitamin Water and Sprite Green

Zerose heavily promoted to have Zerose erythritol as its sole sweetening agent, for use as table-top sweetener.

Pepsico’s newest drink bottle Aquafina (Eco-Fina) boasts of 50% lesser plastic.

My Comments

Zerose is made by fermenting water and corn (corn is genetically-modified maize) before filtering, crystallizing and drying it. (The problem with Truvia)

Not sure if Cargill or Coca-Cola has any collaboration with Sweetheart (take a look and let me know what you think!)

I will pass on this simply because Coca-Cola used aspartame in their Diet Coke. And no amount of good words now make me trust them more, not even if they donate a big chunk to a charitable cause! Once bitten, twice shy!

New York-based family-owned Cumberland Packing Corp

Saccharin was first discovered by Ira Remsen and Constantin Fahlberg of Johns Hopkins University in 1879. Fahlberg pocketed every penny from sale of Remsen.

This family-run business refuses to upgrade its machinery so its employees are able to keep their jobs.

President: Jeff Eisenstadt

John F. Queeny of Monsanto bought Saccharin from Constantine Fahlberg.

Sweet’N Low® (no aspartame but is saccharin-based sugar, when heated it gets bitter). An N-sulfonyl amide chemically known as acid saccharin, sodium saccharin and calcium saccharin.

Natra Taste (has aspartame and sucralose) and SweetOne (has acesulfame-K) are marketed by Stadt Holdings.

My Comments:

Saccharin, derived from coal tar, is a chemical combination of methyl anthranilate and ammonia (carbon, nitrogen and sulphur atoms). Some infant formulas contain saccharin and have caused irritability and muscle dysfunction.

Saccharin was first used in industrial applications in 1903.

Was banned in 1912 only to have the ban lifted 5 years later.

Scientific research again in 1977 produced bladder cancer in lab rats. Banned in Canada.

Then later someone realised rubber plungers from syringes corroded and bits of them might have gone into the lab rats tested with saccharin!

Saccharin was re-introduced with a new warning label, ""Use of this product may be hazardous to your health. This product contains saccharin which has been determined to cause cancer in laboratory animals."

With the passing of a new legislation, this warning label was removed in 2001.

Saccharin is found in products like Featherweight baking powder.

Saccharin-based sugars is not permitted by Health Canada to be used as
food additives, but approved to be sold as table-top sweeteners and via
pharmacies.

Will avoid!

Ultra® (has aspartame)

Sweet Crystals® (has saccharin)

InstaSweet (has aspartame)

Necta Sweet (has saccharin) tablets used as zero-calorie
substitute sugar.

McNeil Nutritionals (McNeil Specialty Products),
a division/subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson whose Boston-based private
equity firm is J.W. Childs Associates..

In a longterm contract with Tate & Lyle of London
for Fuze, although not involved in the marketing.

Was
embroiled and sued by then Monsanto Corp but reached an undisclosed
settlement in private.

Conveniently pushed blame to Sugar
Association for its "false advertising and marketing" but
court dismissed the suit.

Chief Executive of Tate & Lyle: Iain Ferguson

Splenda® (has no aspartame but it’s
an artificial sugar made of chlorine atoms; aka ‘sucralose’) found in
Fuze line of Slenderize beverages, etc.

Many pharmaceutical and health food manufacturers like Pro Lab, Twin
Lab and Ross Products (makers of Pedialyte) switched over to Sucralose.

My Comments:

Although not as famous as dangerous aspartame, its effects are not far
from aspartame’s. Splenda is modified sucrose molecule that cannnot be
digested, and thus it creates chaos in humans.

According to Senior Vice President of Marketing, Jim Trebilcoc (Cadbury
Schweppes), they use Splenda/Sucralose in brands like Cadbury and Snapple.

Despite FDA’s studies that it causes lymphatic cell mutations in lab
mice, FDA approved Splenda in 1999.

According to a Japanese study, 40% of consumed Splenda/Sucralose is absorbed
by the body, with an undetermined amount concentrating in liver,
kidneys (organ enlargements) and gastrointestinal tract (colon abnormalities).
McNeil had said Splenda is not broken down nor absorbed in the body.

The thymus gland shrinks and more red blood
cells die. Other abnormalities seen in lab mice: birth defects,
reduced fetal weight and growth rate, etc similiar to damages seen in
Aspartame victims.

Splenda has trace amounts of arsenic, methanol, heavy metals and chlorinated
saccharides. But some food and drinks manufacturer like it because it
is the most heat-stable of all artificial sugars!

FDA said these contaminants in Splenda are considered "acceptable
within current manufacturing guidelines". And who set these guidelines??

Has manufacturing plants in Alabama (USA) and gulp….Singapore!

Mr Teo Ming Kian Chairman of Singapore Economic
Development Board said,"“We are proud that Tate
& Lyle, a global leader in renewable ingredients, has chosen Singapore
to spearhead its growth in Asia and to be a vital part of the global success
of SPLENDA® Sucralose, especially as this is the company’s first manufacturing
investment in Singapore."

I would like to ask Mr. Teo if he has checked whether Tate
& Lyle is able to operate in USA because they were "found out"
(Splenda)? (By the way, Singaporeans who want to warn the EDB of the dangers
of Splenda can write to Singapore Economic Development Board: Patricia
Ng, Head Marketing and Communications, patricia_ng@edb.gov.sg or call
her on telephone number +65 6832 6004)

D-et® (has Splenda aka sucralose)

Based in Bangkok.

Based in Hebei, China.

Discovered in 1967 by Karl Clauss, a chemist working
for the Hoechst Group of Germany.

Now owned by Frankfurt-based Nutrinova. Their PR is
Celanese Corporation in Dallas (USA).

Acesulfame K (a potassium known as Acesulfame Potassium,
ACK and Ace-K) marketed under the brand names Sunett,
Swiss Sweet, Sweet & Safe, 1Fast400
and E950.

ACK is an N-sulfonyl amide. Despite the alarming evidence of questionable
safety, ACK was approved in 1988. It stimulates insulin secretion in a
dose dependent fashion thereby possibly aggravating reactive hypoglycemia
("low blood sugar attacks").

Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) protested it had not
been properly tested for safety

ACK is believed to be distributed to well over 100 countries.

Am avoiding!

Hermesetas® ( has saccharin)

Hermesetas Gold® (has Ace-k
and aspartame)

Cyclamate marketed as Sucaryl® (1950s)
and Sugar Twin® (saccharin + cyclamate, yellow box).
Found in products like Weight Watchers and Assugrin.

Sugar Twin® is widely sold in Canada and is marketed by Alberto-Culver
Company.

Cyclamate is an artificial sugar that was removed from the US market
in 1969 (caused DNA damage in the digestive organs of
rats and mice). But is now currently seeking re-approval for use to mask
bitter taste in medicines!

In 1985 the Cancer Assessment Committee of the FDA Center for Food Safety
and Applied Nutrition, and the National Academy of Sciences concluded
that cyclamate is NOT a carcinogen.

Was also found in Sweet’n Low (marketed by Cumberland
Packing Corp).

Not permitted by Health Canada to be used as food additives, but approved
to be sold as table-top sweeteners and via pharmacies. Also approved for
use in 50 countries

Will avoid!

Developed by Pfizer (yes, the company that makes and
sells Viagra!)

In the news: Pfizer used kids in Nigeria as guinea pigs for an UNAPPROVED
drug, Trovan. Many either died or suffered permanent disabilities. (Google
for ANDREW GUMBEL and Trovan).

Alitame (marketed under the brand name of Aclame™)
is another variation of aspartame!

Alitame is a Depeptide derivative, made from L-aspartic acid and D-alanine,
along with a novel amine (amino acid). The aspartic acid component of
Alitame is metabolized normally in the human body, and thus it is not
entirely calorie-free as claimed.

Found in food and beverages distributed in Australia, New Zealand, Chile,
Columbia, China, Indonesia and Mexico for use in food, beverages and as
table-top sweeteners although it is pending FDA approval since 1986!

D-Tagatose (synthetically produced from whey) was found in 7-Eleven’s
Slurpee.

Many food manufacturers are eye-ing Tagatose as "the next thing
to use after aspartame and splenda woes".

Will avoid until more independent tests say it’s safe!

Marketed by Imperial Sugar Company (bought
Savannah Foods & Industries, Inc. in 1997) whose subsidiaries
include

• Raceland Sugars, Inc.,
• Everglades Sugar Refinery, Inc.,
• Savannah Sugar Refining Corporation,
• South Coast Sugars, Inc.,
• Colonial Sugars, Inc.,
• Michigan Sugar Company,
• Savannah Food Service, Inc.,
• Food Carrier, Inc.,
• Great Lakes Sugar Company,
• Michigan Sugar (Beet sugar),
• Phoenix Packaging Corporation and
• Savannah Investment Company.

Source: International Directory of Company Histories, Volume 7 (publisher:
St. James Press)

Founded by Benjamin Oxnard in 1916 as "Savannah Sugar Refining
Corporation".

CEO: John Shepter

VP: Eric Story

SVP (Commodities Management): Patrick Henneberry

Finance VP: Hal Mechler

Before being acquired by Imperial Holly Corporation, key personnel in
Savannah were:

CEO: William W. Sprague

CFO: Gregory H. Smith

Director: Arthur M. Gignilliat

Senior VPs: David H. Roche and James M. Kelley

Sweet Thing under product name Dixie Crystals
Sweet Thing Sugar Substitute (blue canister contains Aspartame,
pink canister contains Saccharin) and other
brands like Imperial®, Pioneer®,
Holly® and Spreckels®

Sweet Thing also has these: dextrose,
maltodextrin which are not desirable substances.

Ajinomoto Company Inc.

Advantame

Ajinimoto is the leading global supplier of proven neurotoxic and carcinogenic
aspartame as well as the equally destructive monosodium glutamate, has
applied to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for approval of another
biochemical monstrosity of to-the-public-unknown constitution, called
Advantame, what they call "an innovative sweetener for use in foods
and beverages."