Splenda being sued by rivals for misleading advertising claims
Categories: Diet & Weight Loss, Celebs & Entertainment, Reviews & Products, Nutrition & Supplements
When you read the words "made from sugar, so it tastes like sugar," what do you assume about the product? Do you assume it's natural? Do you assume that it's made from sugar? Would you assume it was safer than other similar products? That's what legal minds are trying to figure out after the makers of Equal and NutraSweet filed a lawsuit against the makers of Splenda, saying that Splenda fools customers into thinking their product is natural with their misleading advertising slogan.
The truth is, sugar is used in the making of Splenda, but all sugar is burned off during the process and there is no sugar in the finished product. Splenda is made from synthetic compounds, just like Equal and NutraSweet, but these competitors claim that consumers don't understand that the products are very similar in nature. Splenda argues back that consumers like their product better because it tastes better and can be used in in baking. Splenda sales make up 60% of the artificial sweetener market right now, so there's a lot of money at stake on both sides.
Do you use artificial sweeteners? If so, let's take an unofficial poll: Which sweetener do you like better? If so, why? And did you understand that Splenda was not sugar-based and not natural? Does that make a difference to you? And if you're like me and you don't use these sort of products at all, tell us what helped you make that decision.
The truth is, sugar is used in the making of Splenda, but all sugar is burned off during the process and there is no sugar in the finished product. Splenda is made from synthetic compounds, just like Equal and NutraSweet, but these competitors claim that consumers don't understand that the products are very similar in nature. Splenda argues back that consumers like their product better because it tastes better and can be used in in baking. Splenda sales make up 60% of the artificial sweetener market right now, so there's a lot of money at stake on both sides.
Do you use artificial sweeteners? If so, let's take an unofficial poll: Which sweetener do you like better? If so, why? And did you understand that Splenda was not sugar-based and not natural? Does that make a difference to you? And if you're like me and you don't use these sort of products at all, tell us what helped you make that decision.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Yayaja 4-12-2007 @ 1:25PM
I use Splenda occasionally because it is the only low calorie sweetener that I don't find gross and it doesn't have a bitter after taste for me. I am fully aware that there is nothing natural about it, but i guess years of reading ingredients like "mono-Sodium diosulphamate hydroxy" in many of the things I eat have desensitized me to laboratory made ingredients.
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kc 4-12-2007 @ 4:34PM
I DID use Splenda for a short time, and then I decided to research what it actually is. I used Ask.com, but I am sure any search engine will tell you the horror stories associated Splenda. True, it doesn't have the aftertaste of the blue or pink packets, but just imagine how much MORE engineering was involved to make it that way. Add that to all the nutrition claims that artificial sweeteners only make your body more hungry for real sugar later, and I will stick with the white stuff. I would rather be able to pronounce the things going into my body.
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Ashley 4-14-2007 @ 11:20AM
I don't use splenda, or any artificial sweetener for that matter, because it makes my heart race, I get dizzy, and I get horrible headaches. I'm not sure if I'm actually allergic to artificial sweeteners or not, but it definitely looks and feels that way.
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besseme 4-16-2007 @ 1:45PM
Ah, lawsuits. What's mine is mine; what's yours is mine.
Sounds to me like someone just wants a piece of the Splenda profit pie. Their case looks kind of weak, based off the article, but people have won more for less. The makers of Splenda are probably screwed.
I use Splenda as a sugar substitute occasionally. I never use Equal. If I'm going to kill myself chemicals, I at least want them to taste decent.
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