Report: Johnson & Johnson May Put Splenda On Block

Johnson & Johnson

may be shopping its artificial sweetener brand Splenda, according to a report Wednesday by Reuters. The New Brunswick, N.J. health care giant hired Goldman Sachs to explore a sale of Splenda brand, according to the report citing unnamed sources. The no-calorie sweetener is part of the company's consumer segment and its principal nutritional line. Splenda was approved for sale in the U.S. in 1998 although controversy continues about its effects on health. http://web.archive.org/web/20080223143211/http://vm.cfsan.fda.gov/~lrd/tpsucral.html http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/study-suggests-sweeteners-could-contribute-to-obesity-and-diabetes/2014/09/17/c3c04ea6-3dc2-11e4-b03f-de718edeb92f_story.html Splenda U.S. sales were estimated at $212.3 million seven years ago, but Johnson & Johnson, with sales last year of $71.31 billion, doesn't break out figures for the product. British food ingredients supplier Tate & Lyle

, which also sells Splenda branded sweeteners, fell short of market expectations last month with quarterly earnings that were hurt by Splenda results. Tate blamed increasingly intense price competition from similar products produced in Asia. http://www.tateandlyle.com/InvestorRelations/ResultsandPresentations/Documents/2014/2014_November_Interim_statement_USD.pdf Johnson & Johnson was little changed recently, trading at $108.35 a share.