Yoplait Light in the U.S. to switch out sweeteners

The maker of Yoplait Light is hoping a sweetener change can help bring back customers.

General Mills Inc. said Wednesday it plans to remove aspartame from its popular reduced-calorie yogurt in favour of another artificial sweetener, sucralose. Aspartame is better known by the brand names NutraSweet and Equal, while sucralose is the sweetener used in Splenda.

"We know that some consumers have concerns about aspartame, so this is a positive transition,'' General Mills CEO Ken Powell said in a phone interview.

Although sucralose is also an artificial sweetener, Powell said it has greater acceptance among consumers.

The Minneapolis-based company expects the reformulated cups to hit shelves by September.

Mike Siemienas, a General Mills spokesman, said the new cups will say ``Now no aspartame'' and still have around 90 calories. He said the company considered a number of alternatives after hearing from consumers that ``they wanted a product that did not contain aspartame.''

``This change does not compromise the amazing taste of Yoplait Light yogurt,'' he wrote in an email.

According to Catherine Jackson, corporate communications manager for General Mills Canada, none of Yoplait's products in Canada contain aspartame. While Yoplait Light does not exist on the Canadian market, its Canadian counterpart Source, contains sucralose.