Listing ECJ on Cookie Label Misleads About Sugar Content, Putative Class Action Against Whole Foods Alleges

A consumer has filed a proposed class action against Whole Foods
Market Group Inc. alleging that the company’s Gluten Free All-Natural
Nutmeal Raisin Cookies list evaporated cane juice (ECJ) as an ingredient
to mislead consumers about the amount of sugar contained in the
product. Bryant v. Whole Foods Mkt. Grp. Inc., No. 15-1001 (E.D. Mo.,
removed to federal court June 25, 2015). The complaint, originally filed
in Missouri state court in April, asserts that ECJ should be listed as sugar
under the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) rule that food
labels use the most common or usual name of an ingredient. According
to the April complaint, the plaintiff seeks class certification and damages.
The lawsuit joins a wave of litigation against food manufacturers
presenting the same argument. Several courts have dismissed the cases
without prejudice or granted stays after FDA indicated that it would
publish updated guidance about ECJ. Additional details appear in Issue
554 of this Update.

Issue 571