Consumers Can Fight Back against Mislabeling by Food Companies

Freidin Brown, P.A.
Oct 20, 2015
4 min read

It is a fraud on consumers to create labels that do not accurately reflect the ingredients in a food item, including using “evaporated cane juice” to denote sugar content that is really no different than refined white sugar.

If it’s sugar, call it sugar. Not “evaporated cane juice,” or “evaporated cane juice crystals” or “organic evaporated cane juice.” These labels: • Are false and misleading • Are not the common names or usual names for a sweetener • Do not appropriately identify the ingredient (sugar), which is not a juice As increasing numbers of people throughout Florida and the United States struggle with obesity, coronary artery disease, hypertension, type 2 diabetes and a host of other health issues due at least in part to high amounts of added sugars in foods. According to the Food and Drug Administration, companies who mislabel foods to hide sugar are robbing everyone of the chance to fight these serious diseases. Just because it is not called sugar, does not mean that “evaporated cane juice” is a healthy or natural alternative to the white sugar. This unfair, deceptive, misleading and false branding has left many consumers believing that they are making a healthier choice to avoid added sugar when in reality the companies that use this wording are just dressing up the common sweetener with words that most do not understand. The FDA Says No To Evaporated Cane Juice In October of 2009, the FDA issued guidance on the proper advertising of evaporated cane juice. Evaporated cane juice or ECJ was being used to refer to sweeteners derived from sugar cane syrup but was improperly leading consumers to believe that it was a healthier juice sweetener rather than sugar. The FDA recommended that evaporated cane juice should not be used to describe sweeteners derived from sugar cane syrup. It is not juice. It is a sugar cane derivative and, according to one complaint, “Kashi represents that ‘evaporated cane juice’ is a ‘natural’ sweetener, implying that it is less harmful than processed white sugar; however ‘evaporated cane juice’ is, in fact, substantially the same as processed white sugar in terms of its health effects.” The complaint goes on to explain, “The minuscule difference between the two (white sugar and evaporated cane juice) is that ‘evaporated cane juice’ has a trace more vitamin A, C and calcium than white sugar. However, the evaporated cane juice one finds on food labels has been refined almost as much as white sugar.” The use of “evaporated cane juice” is purely a marketing tactic that has no real consumer benefit. It is a false assertion of the inclusion of a healthy alternative to sugar when in fact it is really just a synonym or fancy name for sugar. The food companies have taken advantage of consumers desire to purchase healthier products by labeling sugar as the healthier-sounding alternative, evaporated cane juice. Using fancy terminology, food companies have tricked consumers into paying a premium for a “healthy” option, when in fact the product was only mislabeled as such. Tell Us What’s Really In The Food Or Be Held Accountable Deceptive advertising tactics intended to help misbrand products containing processed sugar as containing a healthier or more natural “evaporated cane juice” are false and misleading. Mislabeling food does little to help the American consumer understand what is being purchased and what is being eaten. Currently, there are deceptive labeling class actions pending in California and/or Florida against the use of evaporated cane juice by: • Clover-Stornetta Farms • Trader Joe’s • Kashi • Kellogg’s • Chobani • Yucatan Foods While the FDA is the government agency that regulates food labels and mislabeling, it does not have the resources to hold companies accountable for deceptive labeling practices. Instead, consumers must fight these food makers to ensure that labels appropriately reflect the ingredients used to make a food item. Damages in these lawsuits may be based on the amount of actual sales of the mislabeled food product. Consumers may be entitled to a full or partial refund of any spent purchasing a misbranded products. Ultimately, the goal is to stop major food manufacturers from selling a mislabeled product that serves only to misinform consumers rather than to promote healthy food choices. Help Protect Floridians From False And Deceptive ‘Health’ Food Labels Have you purchased any of these products or others that contain evaporated cane juice? If so, you may have a legal claim against the company that manufactured and misbranded the item for misbranding or false or deceptive labeling practices. Contact a consumer protection class action lawyer in your area to discuss your rights and your options. ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Freidin Dobrinsky We are trial lawyers in Miami with more than 300 jury trials, and while not every case goes to court, we are ready and willing to go before a judge and jury to seek justice for our clients. Because of this, we are known among defense lawyers and insurance companies as being formidable opponents. This reputation helps ensure that when we do settle a personal injury, insurance bad faith, auto accident, medical malpractice, consumer fraud, or a wrongful death case out of court, it is on our terms. Copyright Freidin Brown, P.A. More information about Freidin Brown, P.A. Disclaimer: While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of this publication, it is not intended to provide legal advice as individual situations will differ and should be discussed with an expert and/or lawyer. For specific technical or legal advice on the information provided and related topics, please contact the author.