PHILADELPHIA, April 11 (UPI) -- The makers of artificial sweeteners Equal and Splenda are battling in federal court in Philadelphia over Splenda's claims that it's "made from sugar."
Lawyers for Equal told a jury that the marketing slogan misleads consumers.
"Consumers see this -- 'Made from sugar' -- and they think it's true," Greg LoCascio told jurors in U.S. District Court Tuesday, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. "Witness after witness and documents will show that (Splenda) knew consumers were confused about Splenda and they didn't do anything to stop it. ... Instead, they enriched themselves by over a billion dollars."
Equal wants Splenda to stop using the slogan and pay Equal damages.
The Inquirer reported that Splenda contains the artificial sweetener sucralose, which is made by replacing molecules in sugar with chlorine atoms. Splenda doesn't contain any sugar.
"If you were to visit a Splenda factory you would see trucks of sugar lining up," Splenda lawyer Steven Zalesin told jurors. "Of all the artificial sweeteners, there's only one that starts with sugar and closely resembles sugar."
