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Splenda ad slogans banned in France

By Lorraine Heller
May 11, 2007

A European court has said that the marketing of the sweetener Splenda is misleading to consumers, and has ordered that its advertising slogans be ceased.  The ruling comes as a similar court battle in the US goes to jury.

The Commercial Court of Paris found yesterday that certain advertising claims used by McNeil Nutritionals, the marketers of the ingredient, violate French consumer protection laws.

The slogans in question are "Because it comes from sugar, sucralose tastes like sugar" and "With sucralose: Comes from sugar and tastes like sugar".

The case had been brought against French subsidiaries of McNeil Nutritionals by the French subsidiary of competing sweetener firm Merisant.

The court awarded Merisant €40,000 ($54,000) in damages, and ordered McNeil to stop making the advertising claims.  The firm now has 30 days to amend all packaging of Splenda.  In addition, the Court prohibited the distribution of any products under the trademark Splenda with unchanged packaging after a period of four months.

"We're pleased the Court held McNeil accountable for Splenda advertising that we believe has intentionally fooled a significant number of consumers into thinking Splenda contains sugar and no calories, and that it is a natural product; both are completely false," said Paul Block, chief executive officer of Merisant.

"We want to ensure fair competition through accurate advertising so that consumers can make informed decisions about the products they're buying (…) Splenda is a synthetic compound - created in a lab and manufactured in a chemical plant - and is no more natural than any other low-calorie sweetener."

McNeil said it intends to appeal the court's decision, saying it "continues to believe in the validity of its claims".  It also said it plans to "continue to ensure its advertising represents the products in an accurate and informative manner."

Tate & Lyle, the UK-based manufacturer of Splenda, said it was "disappointed" that the court ruled in favor of Merisant.  It added: "However, Tate & Lyle was not a party to the action and it is not in dispute that our ingredient, Splenda Sucralose, is made from sugar."

The ruling, announced yesterday, came just a day before a similar case between Merisant and McNeil in the US passes to the jury.

The case, which started last month in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, is the culmination of a three-year battle between the two companies.

With a similar premise to the French lawsuit, Merisant, the maker of Equal and NutraSweet, is alleging that McNeil Nutrtitionals and its parent company Johnson & Johnson have purposefully confused consumers over whether Splenda is natural.

The closing arguments in the case were completed yesterday, and a final decision is expected imminently.

According to Merisant spokesperson Jeff Leshay, the ruling in France "gives us even more optimism about the suit going to jury today here in Philadelphia".

"This isn't about safety, it's about providing consumers with truthful information," he told FoodNavigator-USA.com..

Merisant said that its reason for bringing the case against McNeil is twofold: preventing consumers from being misled, and also providing an "equal playing field" for manufacturers of other artificial sweeteners.

"We've always been very clear that Equal is an artificial sweetener.  It's about fairness in business and creating an even playing field."

Merisant is asking for $190m in damages and for McNeil to stop using its marketing slogan.  The trial is expected to last two to three weeks.

McNeil will also be facing another case for its marketing of Splenda, brought by the Sugar Association and due to go to trial in November.  The case follows a long-standing dispute between the company and the trade body, which also claims the slogan used is misleading.