Splenda ads not so sweet
This article was originally published in The Tan Sheet
Executive Summary
McNeil Nutritionals is being sued by Equal- and Nutrasweet-marketer Merisant and the Sugar Association in separate suits filed in Pennsylvania and California district courts, respectively. Both suits allege Splenda ads that state "Made from sugar so it tastes like sugar" are false and misleading because the sweetener is made from sucralose, a synthetic chemical ingredient, the Merisant complaint states. Both Merisant and the Sugar Association are asking McNeil to be enjoined from marketing Splenda as an all-natural substance and request monetary compensation for damages and attorneys fees. McNeil also should run a corrective ad campaign "of comparable size and scope...clarifying that Splenda is not sugar or natural, but is an artificial sweetener," Merisant adds...