[NYTr] Fedl Judge Issues New Rulings in Splenda Suit; Another Setback for Splenda Manufacturers

[All the News That Doesn't Fit]

[Splenda, which is an artificial sweetener made from sugar, is 
one of the products that sugar-producing countries (and not just
the sugar lobby in the US) object to. In addition to its possible
health effects, its economic effects on sugar-producing nations are
destructive. Their sugar is sold at low prices to the US, and comes
back to them at highly inflated rates under NAFTA as an artificial
sweetener. -NYTr]

sent by marcus - activ-l - Jan 3, 2008

PR Newswire

The Sugar Association Press Release - Dec 21, 2007

Federal Judge Issues New Rulings in Splenda Suit; 

Another Setback for Splenda Manufacturers 
     
LOS ANGELES, Dec. 21 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A federal court judge
in Los Angeles cleared the way for attorneys for the Sugar Association
to pursue questions about the potential health effects of the widely
used chemical sweetener Splenda. 

District Court Judge Dale S. Fischer denied Johnson & Johnson's request
for a summary judgment designed to avoid presentation of the health
issues during the upcoming trial. Judge Fischer said, "McNeil is not
entitled to summary judgment," adding that the Sugar Association is
free to present "evidence of Splenda's alleged lack of safety to the
extent it is relevant to Plaintiffs' Lanham Act claims regarding the
healthfulness of Splenda, or any other properly pleaded Lanham Act
claim." 

A previous motion by Johnson & Johnson seeking to have the entire case
thrown out was denied by the court earlier this month. 

Sugar Association Attorney Adam Fox said, "We are pleased with the
Court's decision to permit all of the issues raised in this lawsuit
proceed to trial, and look forward to presenting the jury with the
truth about Splenda." 

Today's ruling is the latest in the three year legal confrontation
between American sugar farmers and Johnson & Johnson. The issue central
to the lawsuit is whether Johnson & Johnson's claims that Splenda -- a
chemical sweetener containing chlorine -- is "Made from sugar, so it
tastes like sugar" and "Good for the Whole Family" have mislead
consumers to believe that Splenda is natural, and by implication,
irrefutably healthy to consume. 

For more information on the Sugar Association's effort to educate
consumers and to encourage regulatory agencies to take action to stop
Splenda's false advertising, go to http://www.TruthAboutSplenda.com. 

SOURCE The Sugar Association