Secret behind Oreo cream stolen, sold to Chinese company

The secret behind the cream used in Oreo cookies is worth millions of dollars, and 'Good Morning America' says it's now at the center of an international espionage scandal.

'It's a special formula added to the vanilla cream that makes it the perfect shade of white.'

'Titanium dioxide. DuPont patented it as a way of whitening papers, plastics, paints, and yes, Oreo cream.'

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution says the best-selling cookie just celebrated its 102nd birthday March 6th, and Nabisco, the maker of Oreos, has been using titanium dioxide in its cookie cream for years.

But now, a federal jury has convicted two American businessmen of stealing and selling the method for making that whitening powder.

Bloomberg says Walter Liew and ex-Dupont engineer Robert Maegerle were found guilty of trade secret theft, economic espionage and witness tampering.

The Verge reports Liew sold the secret titanium dioxide formula to a Chinese company, which had been trying to get its hands on the formula for years and is in the process a building a plant to produce the whitening powder. The company paid Liew $20 million for the formula.

Both men face a minimum of 15 years in prison and thousands of dollars in fines.