The Third Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a conspiracy case claiming that 10 defendants, including Japanese firm Ajinomoto Co. Inc., which distributed aspartame in the United States; Monsanto, which owned rights to aspartame product NutraSweet; and Delaware-based NutraSweet Co. conspired to increase the price of the sweetener. The court dismissed the case as outside the statute of limitations, because the defendants had not purchased aspartame for over 5 years. The plaintiffs argued that the conspiracy had been fraudulently concealed, but the court held that the plaintiffs failed to take sufficient care during the statutory period. “A plaintiff who neglects to take reasonable measures to uncover the existence of injury,” the court explained, “is not entitled to the benefit of the fraudulent concealment doctrine.”