Lesser of Two Evils: Splenda or Equal?
December 29 2004
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While packages of the artificial sweetener Splenda claim, "made
from sugar, so it tastes like sugar," one competitor argues
that this statement is nothing short of false advertising.
In fact, this rival, Equal manufacturer Merisant Co., has filed
a lawsuit against Splenda stating the advertisement should read
something a little more like, "made from dextrose, maltodextrin
and 4-chloro-4-deoxy-alpha, D-Galactopyranosyl-1, 6-dichloro-1,
6-dideoxy-beta, D-fructofuranoside." Merisant further disputed
that the Splenda marketing company, McNeil Nutritionals (a division
of Johnson & Johnson), has misled consumers and deceived them
into believing that the no-calorie artificial sweetener is "natural,"
or made from raw sugar.
The lawsuit also stated:
- Splenda is not natural in any way
- Splenda is sweetened with a synthetic compound that is the result
of a complex chemical process
However, a McNeil Nutritionals spokeswoman defended the Splenda
marketing, saying that the lawsuit against them had no merit and
that consumers were never misled. She also persisted that Splenda
is made from sugar -- sucralose (key ingredient of Splenda) begins
inside a pure cane sugar, which is then chemically altered during
manufacturing to create a compound that does not have any calories.
ABC
News December 1, 2004