Sucralose is an artificial sweetener known by the trade name Splenda and the generic Altern. In the European Union, it is also known under the E number (additive code) E955. It is 320–1,000 times as sweet as sucrose,[2] making it roughly twice as sweet as saccharin and four times as sweet as aspartame. It is manufactured by the selective chlorination of sucrose, by which three of sucrose's hydroxyl groups are substituted with chlorine atoms to produce 1,6-dichloro-1,6-dideoxy-β-D-fructo-furanosyl 4-chloro-4-deoxy-α-D-galactopyranoside or C12H19Cl3O8. Unlike aspartame, it is stable under heat and over a broad range of pH conditions, and can be used in baking, or in products that require a longer shelf life. Since its introduction in 1999,Sucralose has overtaken Equal in the $1.5 billion artificial sweetener market, holding a 62% market share.[3]According to market research firm IRI, as reported in the Wall Street Journal, Splenda sold $212 million in 2006 in the US while Equal sold $48.7 million.[4]