Equal v. Splenda

When the Equal v. Splenda lawsuit was publicized I, for one, was rooting for Equal. After all, I was one of the millions that thought Splenda contained sugar. Now, in the wake of their settlement, I am left to wonder, “Where is justice for the consumer?”.  

Equal owners, Merisant, got an undisclosed financial settlement out of the deal and Splenda owners, McNeil Nutritionals, avoided being found guilty of false advertisement.  But, as the consumer, I get nothing. Well, nothing tangible. I do get to wonder what was in the sweetener I was using. I get to question how such a blatant misstatement in advertising went unquestioned. And, I get to wonder what the other artificial sweeteners are not telling me.

I am happy that the truth came out. I have gone back to regular sugar and honey as my sweeteners of choice, with stevia as my alternative. And while McNeil won’t be compensating me as a customer, I do find a little pleasure in knowing they finally had to own up to their truth. Let’s hope other advertising teams take notice.
 

 For a complete article on the settlement, check of the New York Times Link below: 

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/12/business/media/12splenda.html