Dannon Light & Fit It’s no Olympic boxing match, but opponents in round one of the Greek yogurt knockdown are both ready to come out swinging in round two. Dannon won the decision after the first bell on Jan. 29 when a judge in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York told Chobani to pause certain aspects of its Simply 100 advertising campaign that launched Jan. 6. The two yogurt giants both quickly claimed the upper hand. “We are pleased with the court’s decision granting a preliminary injunction to stop this misleading advertising which is causing fear about safe ingredients, and we look forward to full and final resolution of this matter,” Dannon officials said in a news release. “Dannon considers this first step a victory for consumers who love Light & Fit.” Dannon corporate officials contend Chobani’s Simply 100 campaign — that touts the lack of artificial sweeteners or artificial preservatives and slams sucralose in Dannon’s Light & Fit — violates state and federal laws because it is “false, misleading, disparaging, or deceptive.” Chobani’s chief marketing and brand officer said the company will obey the judge, but stay the course for its stevia-sweetened reduced-calorie yogurt. “While we’re disappointed by the preliminary ruling, we’re commChobani-Simply-100-yogurtjpgitted to continuing the conversation and it’s good to see big food companies like General Mills starting to remove artificial ingredients from some of their products, like their cereals. In the end, if we can give more people more information while helping other food companies make better food, everyone wins,” Chobani’s Peter McG uinness said in the Jan. 29 news release. Chobani’s ads stated “sucralose, an artificial sweetener found in Dannon Light & Fit Greek Yogurt, is processed with added chlorine, which prevents sucralose from being broken down into the body for energy, according to the FDA.”   (To sign up for a free subscription to Food Safety News, click here.)