'Zero sugar' products targeted in lawsuits alleging deception
Companies are facing lawsuits over the use of a sweetener that they allege contains “zero sugar.” (Image from Shutterstock)
Makers of ice cream bars, energy drinks, gummy worms, barbecue sauces, protein bars and other products are facing lawsuits over the use of a sweetener that they allege contains “zero sugar.”
Nearly 60 suits have been filed against food producers who use a sugar substitute called allulose, Bloomberg Law reports. The suits follow a July ruling from the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals at Chicago that reinstated consumer deception claims against Chobani.
Allulose is a simple sugar that occurs naturally in figs and molasses and is extremely sweet for minimal calories. It has a small metabolic impact on the human body, with almost no impact on blood glucose, and therefore isn’t associated with many negative health effects of more traditional sugars, according to Bloomberg Law.
Before the 7th Circuit’s ruling, companies could treat guidance from the Food and Drug Administration as permission to leave allulose out of the total sugars calculation.
But it’s “painfully clear” now the guidance isn’t going to “reach into state law consumer protection law and somehow create some kind of additional cover,” Laura Bentele, a partner at Armstrong Teasdale, told Bloomberg Law.
The ruling has created an “extremely high risk” that companies labeling items made with allulose as “zero sugar” are going to get sued, said T. Daniel Logan, a partner at Kleinfeld Kaplan Becker.
See also:
Chobani can face lawsuit over no-sugar yogurt claim, 7th Circuit rules
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