Splenda at center of $1 billion lawsuit

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 17 (UPI) -- Splenda's slogan tying the substitute sweetener to sugar is at the heart of a $1 billion lawsuit brought in Los Angeles by the sugar industry.

In their federal lawsuit, Sugar Association officials take issue with two subsidiaries of Johnson & Johnson Co., the creators of Splenda, using the marketing slogan "Made from sugar, so it tastes like sugar," the Los Angeles Daily News said Saturday.

The Sugar Association alleges the slogan, along with its partner phrase "Good for the whole family," represents deceptive advertising on the part of McNeil PPC Inc. and McNeil Nutritionals LLC.

The legal battle has been brewing for three years and has revolved around how Splenda is made, with Sugar Association officials arguing it is truly a man-made chlorocarbon.

McNeil officials deny misleading anyone, saying Splenda, the top sugar substitute, is made through a patented, multi-step process that starts with sugar.

The Daily News said Sugar Association attorneys managed to get the U.S. District Court trial, which has a key hearing scheduled for Monday and will officially get underway in January.