Food & Beverage Litigation & Regulatory Update

Tag: sugar

  • Plaintiffs Allege Kombucha Drinks Contain More Sugar Than Advertised

    A consumer has filed a putative class action alleging Health-Ade LLC’s kombucha contains four to five times the amount of sugar listed on its label. Gonzalez v. Health-Ade LLC, 28-1836 (N.D. Cal., filed March 23, 2018). The complaint alleges that the nutrition panels for nine of Health-Ade’s products state they contain from two to four grams…

  • Study Reportedly Links Ultra-Processed Foods to Increased Cancer Risk

    Researchers in France and Brazil have concluded that a 10 percent increase in the consumption of ultra-processed foods is associated with a “significant increase of greater than 10% in risks of overall and breast cancer.” Thibault Fiolet, et al., “Consumption of ultra-processed food and cancer risks: results from NutriNet-Santé prospective cohort,” BMJ, February 14, 2018. The…

  • EFSA Seeks Comments on Added Sugar

    The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has launched a consultation on its draft protocol for its scientific opinion on free sugars. The protocol responds to five member states’ request seeking “a science-based cut-off value for a daily exposure to added sugars from all sources (i.e. sucrose, fructose, glucose, starch hydrolysates such as glucose syrup, high-fructose…

  • Report Explores Possible Causes for Rise in Saturated Fats

    Responding to pressure from health groups, the government and consumer demand, food companies have been reducing levels of sugar and salt in their foods, the Washington Post reports, but levels of saturated fats in the updated recipes for these reduced-salt or -sugar foods have surged. The Post cites a November 2017 report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)…

  • Proposed Class Action Alleges “Healthy” Belvita Foods Are Full of Sugar

    Two consumers have filed a putative class action alleging Mondelez International’s Belvita breakfast foods are marketed to consumers interested in “health and wellness” but contain between 8 and 14 grams of added sugar per serving. McMorrow v. Mondelez Int’l, No. 17-2327 (S.D. Cal., filed November 16, 2017). The complaint asserts that the packaging and labeling…

  • PLOS Article Claims SRF Terminated Research Funding in 1970

    PLOS has published an article asserting that in 1970, the Sugar Research Foundation (SRF) terminated its funding of research into the health risks of sugar and did not publish the research results. C. Kearns, et al., “Sugar industry sponsorship of germ-free rodent studies linking sucrose to hyperlipidemia and cancer: An historical analysis of internal documents,”…

  • Scotland Opens Diet and Health Proposals to Public Comment

    The Scottish Government is seeking public comment on a consultation that proposes actions to improve diet and reduce obesity in Scotland. The government previously announced funding of more than $55 million over five years to limit the marketing of food high in fat, sugar and salt and provide weight-loss support for people with type 2 diabetes.…

  • Kellogg’s Breakfast Cereals Sugar Lawsuit to Proceed

    A California federal court will allow to proceed a suit alleging that Kellogg’s breakfast cereals and bars are unhealthy because of excess added sugars, finding that the labeling and packaging of 24 named products “contain at least one statement that is not preempted, non-misleading or puffery as a matter of law.” Hadley v. Kellogg Sales…