SPLENDA® Sweetener Partners with Meals On Wheels to Sweeten Independence Day for Those in Need

FORT WASHINGTON, Pa., July 1 /PRNewswire/ -- There's nothing more American than apple pie and this 4th of July, the SPLENDA® Brand is sweetening our nation's Independence Day by sharing thousands of slices of apple pie while helping to feed the hungry. McNeil Nutritionals, LLC, the marketer of SPLENDA® Sweetener Products, is working in collaboration with Meals On Wheels Association of America (MOWAA) and SPLENDA® Signature Chef, Katie Brown, to distribute slices of Brown's favorite pie nationwide to our veterans and seniors in need. Consumers are invited to join the initiative as well by downloading the "Send A Pie" application on the SPLENDA® Facebook page and adding to the SPLENDA® Brand's $50,000 donation. If more than 25,000 virtual slices of pie are shared between Independence Day and Labor Day, McNeil Nutritionals, LLC, the marketer of SPLENDA® Sweetener, will donate an additional $5,000 to MOWAA.*

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"In our country today, one in nine seniors is facing the threat of hunger," said Enid Borden, President and CEO of MOWAA. "We are delighted to partner with the SPLENDA® Brand for this event and thank them for stepping up to the plate and joining us in our fight to end senior hunger in America by the year 2020."

Inaugurated as the first-ever SPLENDA® Signature Chef earlier this year, Brown is joining the cause by offering up her favorite "Nostalgic Apple Pie" recipe. On July 2, local Meals On Wheels programs across the country, including New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago and Dallas, will load more than 10,000 slices of fresh-baked apple pie, sweetened with SPLENDA® No Calorie Sweetener, onto their trucks and deliver both to city senior centers as well as homebound seniors.

"I feel so proud that the SPLENDA® Brand is supporting a cause in which I get to be so involved," said Brown. "During my time as SPLENDA® Signature Chef, I've developed many recipes which can be enjoyed with less added sugar as healthier meal and dessert alternatives – including pies, sauces, entrees and more. The pie I'm sharing through the local Meals On Wheels programs is a traditional apple pie that is wonderfully old-fashioned in flavor with delicious apples and a cinnamon twist."

While the SPLENDA® Brand and local Meals On Wheels programs are hard at work delivering pies, consumers can join the cause from the comfort of their own homes by visiting www.Facebook.com/Splenda and virtually passing a piece of pie to family and friends. Users can build their own custom pie by choosing from an array of animated crusts, fillings and toppings, then create a personalized message and send along to family and friends to sweeten their days as well. The application also offers participants access to some of Brown's favorite pie recipes made with SPLENDA® Sweeteners, including "Lofty Lemon Meringue," "Cherry Cherry" and "Fresh Strawberry," which are all available for download and sharing.

For more recipes, consumers can visit www.Splenda.com or www.Facebook.com/Splenda.  

*Pies shared from the following states are not eligible to be counted toward the 25,000: Maine, Massachusetts, South Carolina and Alabama.

About SPLENDA® Sweetener Products

SPLENDA® Sweetener Products contain sucralose (SPLENDA® Brand Sweetener), the no-calorie sweetener that starts with sugar, tastes like sugar, but is not sugar. SPLENDA® Sweetener Products have been safely enjoyed by millions of consumers worldwide, including pregnant or nursing women, children and individuals with diabetes. SPLENDA® No Calorie Sweetener is the nation's #1 selling branded sweetener and can be used almost anywhere sugar is used, including cooking and baking. The complete line of products includes SPLENDA® No Calorie Sweetener in Packet and Granulated form, SPLENDA® Sugar Blend, SPLENDA® Brown Sugar Blend, SPLENDA® Flavors for Coffee, SPLENDA® FLAVOR ACCENTS® Sticks for water or tea, SPLENDA® No Calorie Sweetener Minis and SPLENDA® No Calorie Sweetener with Fiber.

SPLENDA® Sweetener Products are marketed by McNeil Nutritionals, LLC. For more information on SPLENDA® Sweetener Products or to obtain recipes and tips on cooking and baking with the brand, visit www.splenda.com or call 1-800-7-SPLENDA (1-800-777-5363). Or, for a sweet shopping experience, visit www.Splendidlife.com.

About McNeil Nutritionals

McNeil Nutritionals, LLC, is a global marketer of innovative nutritional products. The company's mission is to give people the ability to actively manage their own health. McNeil Nutritionals, LLC, markets SPLENDA® Sweetener Products, SUN CRYSTALS® All-Natural Sweetener, VIACTIV® Dietary Supplements, LACTAID® Milk and Dietary Supplements and BENECOL® Products. McNeil Nutritionals, LLC, is headquartered in Fort Washington, PA.

About Meals On Wheels Association of America

The Meals On Wheels Association of America (MOWAA) is the oldest and largest national organization in the United States representing those programs that provide meals to people in need. MOWAA's mission is to end senior hunger by 2020. To obtain more information about MOWAA or to locate a local Meals On Wheels program, visit the MOWAA website at www.mowaa.org.

This press release contains "forward-looking statements" as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.  These statements are based on current expectations of future events.  If underlying assumptions prove inaccurate or unknown risks or uncertainties materialize, actual results could vary materially from McNeil Nutritionals, LLC, and/or Johnson & Johnson's expectations and projections.  Risks and uncertainties include general industry conditions and competition; economic conditions, such as interest rate and currency exchange rate fluctuations; technological advances and patents attained by competitors; challenges inherent in new product development, including obtaining regulatory approvals; domestic and foreign health care reforms and governmental laws and regulations; and trends toward health care cost containment.  A further list and description of these risks, uncertainties and other factors can be found in Exhibit 99 of Johnson & Johnson's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended January 3, 2010.  Copies of this Form 10-K, as well as subsequent filings, are available online at www.sec.gov, www.jnj.com or on request from Johnson & Johnson.  Neither McNeil Nutritionals, LLC, nor Johnson & Johnson undertake to update any forward-looking statements as a result of new information or future events or developments.

SOURCE SPLENDA(R) Sweetener Products