You may remember the secret Splenda in microwave kettle korn. (Despite the illustrations of sacks of sugar on the box.)

I recently noticed a new use of an artificial sweetener that really blew me away. NutraSweet (aspartame) is now in Doublemint gum and Big League Chew.

What the hell is going on?! I see it's the 25th Anniversary edition of Big League Chew. (I double-checked and the traditional 25th anniversary gift is silver. Not NutraSweet.)

These products are completely old school and clearly never had aspartame in them before. Why change it now? Sugar is still the main sweetener in these gums, but how about a heads up? I don't avoid NutraSweet at all costs, but I at least like to know when I am having it.

The packaging does contain the obligatory "PHENYLKETONURICS: CONTAINS PHENYLALANINE" warning, but if you've chewed Doublemint for your entire life, why would you even bother to check? (If you've ever wondered what that warning means, it's for people who have the metabolic disorder Phenylketonuria.)

So weird.

I don't know what to believe, but there's a lot of interesting NutraSweet conspiracy info here.