As you recall, McNeil Nutritionals, the makers of Splenda, filed a lawsuit against the Sugar Association last year for disputing its claims their sugar substitute was anything but natural. Not surprisingly, a U.S. District Court in Delaware dismissed McNeil's lawsuit that charged false advertising claims against the association, in part for creating a Web site, aptly named The Truth About Splenda in March.

This week, McNeil filed a counter-suit, again against the Sugar Association in an effort to shut their anti-Splenda site down. The association's bone of contention all along that mirrors mine: Splenda's popular slogan "Made from sugar so it tastes like sugar," although it contains none.

Meantime, McNeil officials are having problems in the own backyard too. Washington County, Ala. residents living near Tate and Lyle's main Splenda manufacturing facility in McIntosh recently filed a lawsuit of their own in federal court, claiming, among other things, medical problems associated with exposure to phosgene gas, a chemical-warfare agent used during World War I, and now a common intermediary in the production of plastics, pesticides and dyes.

Just a reminder to be careful about avoiding Splenda at all costs, as it's used in formulating a number of over-the-counter drugs

U.S. Newswire June 28, 2006

Mobile Press-Register June 21, 2006