Splenda Manufacturers File Lawsuit In Defense of MarketingPractices

Splenda Manufacturers File Lawsuit In Defense of MarketingPractices

FORT WASHINGTON, Pa.McNeilNutritionals LLC filed a court action in U.S. District Court in Delaware againstThe Sugar Association (SA) and its members, and Qorvis Communications, SAspublic relations firm.The lawsuit follows a news conference held by SA, theCenter for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), the National Grange and agroup of consumer, agriculture and health organizations, which took theadvertising claims surrounding McNeil Nutritionals sweetener Splenda® totask. In the conference, the group said Splendas manufacturers are misleadingconsumers into believing the sweetener actually contains real sugar.

According to a statement released by the SA, Splenda is achlorinated, artificial sweetener comprised of sucralosea highly processedchemical substanceand, although Splendas manufacturers claim thesweetener is Made from Sugar, So it Tastes Like Sugar, the final productcontains no sugar.

Splendas marketing techniques are unfair to farmers andthe entire agricultural industry, said Richard Weiss, chief operating officerof the National Grange, in the same statement. When farmers have to competeagainst chemistry pretending to be natural, it puts them at a disadvantage thataffects their ability to provide quality products for consumers.

According to a statement released by McNeil Nutritionals LLC,the company filed the lawsuit against SA and other defendants to stop them fromcontinuing to make false and misleading, baseless claims about Splenda. McNeil Nutritionals release alsostated Splenda has been well received by physicians with regard to obesity,diabetes and cardiology; the sweeteners safety is backed by over 100scientific studies conducted over a 20-year period; and Splenda has never beenrequired to carry any safety information, advisory or warning statements on itslabeling. The release also said Splenda became the nations top-sellingbranded sugar alternative in U.S. retail outlets in 2004.