Will FDA Cane Juice Opinion Spur Deals, New Labels?

The FDA’s recent guidance equating “evaporated cane juice” with sugar strengthens claims of deception in food labeling suits and may prompt settlements, plaintiffs’ attorneys told Bloomberg BNA.

“The FDA’s action validates the claim, which itself is based on nutrition science, that use of the designation `ECJ’ in place of `sugar’ is misleading to consumers,” according to Maia Kats, litigation director at the Center for Science in the Public Interest in Washington, D.C.

Kats told Bloomberg BNA she would expect to see settlements where the product maker’s ECJ assertion “is conspicuous and implies that the product is healthier or more natural ...