Commercial Court of Paris Rules Splenda Advertising Misleading

Paris and Chicago (ots/PRNewswire) -

- McNeil Nutritionals Held Accountable for Core Splenda Sugar
Claims

Merisant Worldwide, Inc., a global leader in low-calorie tabletop
sweeteners, today announced its French subsidiary Merisant France SAS
has won a significant victory in the Commercial Court of Paris
against subsidiaries of McNeil Nutritionals LLC, the American company
that markets Splenda(R). The court awarded Merisant France a euro
40,000 (US$54,000) damages and ordered the defendants to cease
advertising claims found to violate French consumer protection laws.

The Court's decision strikes at the core of Splenda's global
positioning. The advertising claims found to violate French law and
which McNeil must cease include:

"Because it comes from sugar, sucralose tastes like sugar"
"With sucralose: Comes from sugar and tastes like sugar"

The ruling orders McNeil to amend all advertising and promotions
that contain these and other claims, and to amend all packaging
within a period of 30 days starting as of the service of the
judgment. In addition, the Court prohibited the distribution of any
products under the trademark Splenda(R) with unchanged packaging
after a period of four months starting as of the service of the
decision.

"We're pleased the Court held McNeil accountable for Splenda(R)
advertising that we believe has intentionally fooled a significant
number of consumers into thinking Splenda(R) contains sugar and no
calories, and that it is a natural product; both are completely
false," said Paul Block, chief executive officer of Merisant. "We
want to ensure fair competition through accurate advertising so that
consumers can make informed decisions about the products they're
buying. This ruling is a victory not just for Merisant, but for
French consumers who no longer will be misled into thinking
Splenda(R) is something it's not. Splenda(R) is a synthetic compound
-- created in a lab and manufactured in a chemical plant -- and is no
more natural than any other low-calorie sweetener."

About Merisant

Merisant is a worldwide leader in the marketing of low-calorie
tabletop sweeteners. In addition to Equal(R), Canderel(R), Merisant
markets its products under 20 other brands in over 85 countries. For
more information visit http://www.merisant.com.

Note to editors: Equal(R) and Canderel(R) are registered
trademarks of Merisant Company.

Web site: http://www.merisant.com

ots Originaltext: Merisant Worldwide, Inc.
Im Internet recherchierbar: http://www.presseportal.de

Contact:
U.S., Joseph Poulos of Edelman, +1-312-240-2719; or France, Stephane
Billiet of Hill & Knowlton, +33-1-41-05-44-30, both for Merisant
Worldwide, Inc.