When was splenda invented?

Splenda was invented in 1976 by a team of researchers in a lab at the Tate & Lyle company in the United Kingdom. The sweetener was initially discovered when a researcher mistakenly tasted a compound intended for insecticide and found it to be sweet. Splenda was subsequently developed and received approval for use in food products in the 1990s, becoming widely available in the early 2000s.