Executive Summary

McNeil Consumer Healthcare phasing out plant stanol ester-containing bars, saying consumers have "indicated a preference" for the brand's cholesterol-lowering spreads. Benecol SoftGel supplements, which launched in late 1999, are available in limited distribution; the J&J subsidiary discontinued the brand's salad dressings earlier this year (1"The Tan Sheet" May 1, In Brief). Single-serve packets of Benecol spread are now available solely through McNeil's Healthy Hospitals program, in which patients admitted for a cardiac event are given, at mealtime, Benecol and information about cholesterol. In food/drug/mass, Benecol and Lipton's Take Control continue to lag behind other margarines/spreads in the $1.29 bil. category, with each holding a 2.3% dollar share for the 52 weeks ended May 21, according to IRI