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/.
The Sugar Association
