Elementary Chef

I’ve been halfway following this story with a low level of interest. (Wow. There’s a great way to capture your attention!) I want to care more, but the fact is, I like my Diet Coke with Splenda. I like my flavored water with Splenda. I think it tastes better. Splenda has been marketed for as long as I’ve known of the product as being the no-calorie sweetener that is actually derived from sugar. In the US, this hasn’t posed much of a problem, but in Europe, lawsuits have abounded.

The funny thing about these European lawsuits is that since they don’t wind up in the multiple millions and billions of dollars like they do in the good old U S of A, no one seems to care much about them. However, the marketing machine surrounding Splenda can be very much impacted — and as of last week it WILL BE impacted in the foodie capital of the world, France.

In France, Splenda will no longer be allowed to claim that it comes from sugar.

The ruling orders McNeil to amend all advertising and promotions that contain these and other claims, and to amend all packaging within a period of 30 days starting as of the service of the judgment. In addition, the Court prohibited the distribution of any products under the trademark Splenda(R) with unchanged packaging after a period of four months starting as of the service of the decision.

“We’re pleased the Court held McNeil accountable for Splenda(R) advertising that we believe has intentionally fooled a significant number of consumers into thinking Splenda(R) 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. This ruling is a victory not just for Merisant, but for French consumers who no longer will be misled into thinking Splenda(R) is something it’s not. Splenda(R) 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.”

OK. So I’m fine with Merisant’s claim here. And I’m fine with believing that Splenda is indeed a CHEMICAL. I willingly put plenty of other chemicals in my body. As with all things, it’s a matter of limiting your intake. So here’s the question of the day — do we care that Splenda isn’t sugar?

And, just ’cause I know you’re curious… Guess how much Splenda has to pay in damages? The equivalent of US $54,000.

Splenda, Merisant, law suit, sugar, sweetener