Federal Judge Says Sugar Association Suit Accusing Johnson & Johnson of False Advertising to Go Forward
12.09.07 - A federal court in Los Angeles has opened the door to shining a harsh spotlight on the pharmaceutical firm Johnson & Johnson, whose subsidiary McNeil Nutritionals has been accused of false advertising the controversial chemical sweetener Splenda.  United States District Dale S. Fischer rejected Johnson & Johnson’s request for summary judgment based on that charge that the plaintiffs had unreasonably delayed bringing suit, and said that the claims against Johnson & Johnson should be heard by a jury at a trial on the merits. READ MORE

Fearing Damaging Verdict, Johnson & Johnson Settles Splenda Misleading Advertising Lawsuit
05.14.07 - Johnson & Johnson extended their deceptive marketing practices by buying the silence of the jury and settling in Merisant Co. v. McNeil Nutritionals.  The case called into question Johnson & Johnson’s motives behind the marketing slogan “Made from sugar, so it tastes like sugar” and whether they were aware it was leading consumers to believe that Splenda is somehow natural, or more natural than other artificial sweeteners. READ MORE

Splenda ad slogans banned in France
05.11.07 - 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. READ MORE

Splenda Ads Condemned as Misleading to Consumers by International Advertising Boards, Sugar Farmers and Processors
11.02.06 - Representatives of sugar farmers and processors from around the world have joined this week in Washington, D.C. to demand action on misleading advertising of the chlorinated artificial sweetener Splenda.  Australian and New Zealand sugar groups joined their American counterparts to call on the U.S. Federal Trade Commission to condemn Splenda’s advertising slogan “Made from sugar, so it tastes like sugar” because it is misleading consumers. READ MORE

BRANDWEEK
In Bitter Fight, Sugar Touts Self As The Natural Choice
9.25.06 - For years, Splenda and other artificial sweeteners have eaten into the market share for sugar, but now the industry is retaliating with a bitter campaign casting itself as a natural food made from "living plants, not chemical plants." READ MORE

Another Country Finds Splenda Ads are Misleading Consumer
8.17.06 - The Advertising Claims Bureau of Australia has upheld a complaint against Johnson & Johnson for misleading consumers about the artificial chemical sweetener Splenda.  According to the ruling, the advertisement "is likely to mislead or deceive consumers" because "reasonable members of the public viewing the advertisement are likely to conclude that a significant portion of the SPLENDA® products are comprised of a modified form of sugar." READ MORE

The New Yorker
The Search for Sweet
Building a better sugar substitute
5.22.06 – The substance in the flask seemed to have all the makings of an excellent insecticide.  It was a fine crystalline powder, easy to imagine spraying over a field, and its molecules were full of chlorine atoms, like DDT.  READ MORE

Scripps Howard News Service
Splenda, other sweeteners gain popularity, controversy
5.17.06 - The last month has been a rough one for the makers of Splenda. On April 3, the consumer advocacy group Citizens for Health asked the Food and Drug Administration to revoke its approval of the popular sweetener, citing consumer complaints of adverse side-effects, such as stomach pains and rashes. READ MORE

CITIZENS FOR HEALTH CALLS ON FDA TO REVOKE ITS APPROVAL OF SUCRALOSE
Asks the FDA For A Public Hearing
4.03.06 – Minneapolis, MN - Citizens for Health, the national grassroots advocacy organization committed to protecting and expanding natural health choices, today submitted a Citizen Petition to the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) calling on the agency to revoke its approval of sucralose, better known as the artificial additive, Splenda.  READ MORE

Common Voice
Two More Consumer Groups Decry Splenda's Misleading Advertising
10.10.05 - Are ads for the artificial sweetener Splenda--that use the slogan "made from sugar so it tastes like sugar"--deliberately misleading? Yet two more consumer groups--the latest in a number who've questioned ads for the sweetener---believe that consumers are being deliberately deceived. READ MORE

Generation Green Asks California AG to Investigate Splenda Ads
10.10.05 - EVANSTON, IL - Generation Green today sent a letter to California's Attorney General Bill Lockyer, urging an investigation of misleading advertising practices by Johnson & Johnson for its artificial sweetener Splenda. READ MORE

Farmers Applaud Consumer Groups’ Letter to Attorney General Concerning Misleading Splenda Advertising
Johnson & Johnson under fire again for Splenda Advertising
Truth About Splenda Campaign Supports Effort to Educate Consumers
9.30.05 - Washington, D.C. – The Truth About Splenda campaign commends the California Alliance for Consumer Protection (CACP) and Consumers First for taking on industry giant Johnson & Johnson and their subsidiary McNeil Nutritionals on behalf of California’s consumers.  READ MORE

Consumer Organizations Ask Attorney General to Review Splenda's Advertising Practices They Are Asking: Are Consumers Being Led to Believe Artificial Sweetener Is 'Natural?'
9.23.05 - Sacramento, CA - Two of California's leading consumer organizations released a letter today urging California's Attorney General to look into what may be misleading advertising practices by the makers of Splenda, McNeil Nutritionals, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson. READ MORE

Splenda Ads by Johnson & Johnson Are Misleading, Says Advertising Standards Board New Zealand Ad Authority Upholds Complaint Against J&J 
7.25.05 - The New Zealand Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has upheld a complaint against Johnson & Johnson for misleading marketing practices in advertisements for the chlorinated artificial sweetener Splenda. READ MORE
To read the decision, click here.

New analysis suggests 'diet soda paradox' - less sugar, more weight
06.14.05 - Diet soft drinks are certainly as popular as the sugar-laden versions nowadays, but are the people who are drinking them getting any thinner? It may be exactly the opposite. READ MORE

WebMD Medical News
Drink More Diet Soda, Gain More Weight
Overweight Risk Soars 41% With Each Daily Can of Diet Soft Drink
06.13.05 - People who drink diet soft drinks don't lose weight. In fact, they gain weight, a new study shows. READ MORE

Splenda to Face California Courts on "False Advertising" Claims
04.19.05 - Washington, D.C. - A federal court in Los Angeles has ruled on April 15 that the makers of the artificial chemical sweetener Splenda will face allegations that their marketing and advertising campaign is both false and misleading. READ MORE

Dieticians Think Splenda Ads Are “Rotten”
J&J/McNeil’s Splenda ads win Canadian “Rotten Apple” Prize
03.24.05 - Washington, D.C. - Johnson & Johnson/McNeil has been awarded the 2005 “Rotten Apple” award by the Order of Professional Dieticians of Quebec (OPDQ) for print advertisements touting the chlorinated artificial sweetener Splenda.  Johnson & Johnson/McNeil’s Splenda ads were nominated for both the television and the print categories “for marketing that evokes the idea that their product (an artificial sugar substitute) can be used everywhere sugar can be used and can be given to children without limitation.  The ads also maintain it has the taste of sugar.” READ MORE

Growing Number of National Organizations Raise Concern with Splenda’s Marketing Practices
02.14.05 - Washington D.C. – Today a number of consumer, agriculture and health organizations, in concert with a nationwide network of sugar cane and sugar beet growers, participated in a news conference to refute the misleading advertising claims and marketing practices of the chlorinated artificial sweetener Splenda. The group, which includes the Sugar Association, the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), and the National Grange, among many others, is concerned that the manufacturers of Splenda are confusing consumers into believing that Splenda contains real, all-natural sugar. READ MORE

Five Lawsuits Filed Against Splenda
01.27.05 - Johnson & Johnson under fire concerning false advertising and misleading consumers about Splenda. READ MORE

BusinessWeek
It's Not All Sweetness for Splenda
01.19.05 - Although the sugar substitute's British maker, Tate & Lyle, has seen its stock rise smartly, analysts doubt this high will last. READ MORE

O’Dwyers PR/Marketing Report
01.17.05 - QORVIS SAYS SPLENDA IS NOT SO SWEET.
READ MORE

The "Truth About Splenda" Website Launched
01.10.05 - "A group of concerned consumers, led by sugar cane and sugar beet farmers across America, today launched the website www.truthaboutsplenda.com to better educate consumers about the chlorinated artificial sweetener Splenda." READ MORE

The New York Times
12.22.04 - "The suit contends that McNeil's marketing is elaborately misleading and intended to trick consumers into thinking sucralose is similar to sugar. 'There is no sugar in Splenda and Splenda's sweet taste does not come from sugar,' the lawsuit says. 'The truth is that Splenda is sweetened with a synthetic compound that is the result of a complex chemical process.''' READ MORE

Grand Forks Herald
12.13.04 - "'We are going to work hard to educate consumers that the final product does not have sugar in it. The final product is not natural. In fact, it's a chlorinated artificial sweetener. The final product is actually made with chlorine.' The Food and Drug Administration has approved Splenda as safe, based on animal studies, but Briscoe says there are "no long-term health studies on human beings." READ MORE

Caribbean Business
12.14.04 - “…Splenda’s slogan ('made from sugar, so its tastes like sugar') is misleading because Splenda isn’t made from sugar, but from a synthetic chemical. Merisant spokesman Jeff Leshay said, 'Splenda’s advertising creates the perception that its product is natural, when it is neither natural nor made with sugar. We believe this is an unfair practice.'” READ MORE

The New Scientist
Vol 132 issue 1796
11.23.91 - “Experiments on rats have shown that animals fed a diet rich in sucralose have suffered shrunken thymuses. The thymus gland plays a key role in the immune system. Several other findings - such as enlargement of the liver and kidneys in some animals receiving sucralose - require explanation, say scientists working for the centre. They also want further tests to establish whether sucralose will harm diabetics, who consume more sweeteners than most.” READ MORE