Whole Foods Sued For Misleading Sugar Claims

Whole Foods is in trouble again.  The supermarket chain, still reeling from the revelation that it had systematically overcharged customers for packaged foods for years, is now facing a federal class-action lawsuit for using the term "evaporated cane juice" as a euphemism for sugar.  The plaintiffs allege that Whole Foods called sugar "evaporated cane juice" on the label of its Gluten Free All Natural Nutmeal Raisin Cookies in an attempt to make consumers believe that the cookies "do not contain as much sugar as they in fact contain." Their suit was originally filed in a Missouri state court but is now before the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri.  For a while, it seemed liked every food manufacturer interested in appealing to health-minded customers was citing "evaporated cane juice" on its ingredient label. It sounds healthier, and certainly more "natural," than plain old "sugar" -- even though there's no actual difference between the two. Enthusiasm for the term started to dry up as early as 2009, when the Food and Drug Administration issued non-binding "draft industry guidance" recommending that producers avoid using it as a synonym for sugar. And it's taken a further hit in the past couple years, as consumers have filed a number of lawsuits regarding its use in jurisdictions all around the country. Though many of these suits have been dismissed in court, the food industry has started to ...
Source: Healthy Living - The Huffington Post - Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news