Tate & Lyle starts making powdered as well as liquid sucralose at its Alabama plant

Tate & Lyle has started producing micronized powdered sucralose in addition to liquid sucralose at its recently-re-opened Splenda sucralose facility in McIntosh, Alabama.

This means it can now supply customers worldwide with powdered and liquid forms of the high intensity sweetener from both its plants in Singapore and Alabama, said Ralf Loeffelholz, global vice president, sucralose product management, Tate & Lyle.

“Our two-plant model and the maintenance of safety stocks of both forms of Splenda across the world mean we can provide our customers with unparalleled flexibility and security of supply, no matter what challenges they might face.”

Tate & Lyle re-opened the Alabama plant - the first factory in the world to produce sucralose on an industrial scale - in spring this year - two years after mothballing the site and shifting production to its facility in Singapore.

McIntosh now sells both liquid sucralose (sold in a 25% sucralose in water solution), and powdered micronized sucralose (with tiny particles of just 12 microns across).

Explaining the difference between the two formats, marketing communications manager Amy Lauer said: "Liquid sucralose tends to be used more beverages, although micronized is sometimes used in beverages too, especially powdered soft drinks. Micronized may be used in non-beverage applications but liquid can be used in those as well."

A third grade of product - DFF or granular sucralose with a larger particle size, is only produced in Singapore, and is unlikely to be produced at McIntosh in the immediate future, plant manager Mark Huber told us in the spring. “Singapore has adequate capacity.”

Click here to read our interview with Mark Huber in April.

Click here to see our picture gallery of the plant.