CHICAGO --The NutraSweet Company announced today that its zero calorie sweetener Neotame has been approved by the European Union.

Directive 2009/163/EU, published on December 23, 2009 in the Official Journal of the European Union, authorizes the use of Neotame by the Food and Drink industry as of January 12, 2010.

“With its great taste and very low sweetening cost, Neotame has become the world’s fastest growing sweetener,” said Craig R. Petray, CEO of the NutraSweet Company. “Given the recent emphasis that food and beverage companies are placing on cost savings, we think Neotame will be a European success in short order”.

Today Neotame is approved by practically all global regulatory agencies including the United States Food & Drug Administration, JECFA (Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives), and now also by the European Union,

Neotame is 8,000 times sweeter than sucrose, has flavor enhancing properties, no calories and a clean/simple label. In addition to significant savings on sweetener formulations, Neotame uses less energy to ship, and reduces handling and storage costs – a truly green sweetener. More information on the sweetener can be found at www.neotame.com.

“With Neotame, our European customers will be in a position to create more cost effective sweetener formulations as we challenge ourselves to drive down our costs significantly and pass on the savings,” Petray concluded.

Petray also announced today that Neotame would be distributed in Europe – except in Spain and Portugal – by Brenntag Group, whose product portfolio features high-value products with a substantial technical service component. In Spain and Portugal, Neotame will be distributed by Disproquima, a food ingredient specialist.

About The NutraSweet Company

The NutraSweet Company, headquartered in Chicago, produces and markets sweeteners in more than 100 countries. Its sweeteners are used in over 5,000 food and beverage products and are annually consumed by 250 million people worldwide. The company ignited the sweetener market in 1982 with the launch of NutraSweet. Because of its amazing sweet taste with zero calories, it helped to create a whole new generation of foods and beverages that are staples today for health-minded individuals.