Sugar Companies and Corn Refiners Settle Lawsuit

Written by M. Sean High - Staff Attorney

On November 20, 2015, less than one month into a trial that pitted sugar companies against corn refiners, parties announced a settlement had been reached.  The lawsuit in question involved the advertisement of various health claims relating to high fructose corn syrup.  According to the parties, the terms of the settlement agreement are confidential.

In 2011, sugar companies brought suit against the Corn Refiners Association for using advertisements that referred to high fructose corn syrup as “corn sugar” and “natural.” Furthermore, the sugar companies disputed those advertisements that claimed high fructose corn syrup was “nutritionally the same as table sugar.”

According to the sugar companies, sugar and high fructose corn syrup are distinct products and any advertisement to the contrary is false and misleading.  The sugar companies claimed that this false advertisement resulted in damages in excess of $1.1 billion.  Relatedly,  in 2012, the Food and Drug Administration issued a ruling denying the Corn Refiners Association petition to use “corn sugar” as an alternate name for high fructose corn syrup.

In a joint statement announcing the settlement agreement, the parties expressed that they will “continue their commitments to practices that encourage safe and healthful use of their products, including moderation in the consumption of table sugar, high fructose corn syrup and other sweeteners.”

FDA Comment Period Opens for Proposed Added Sugar Labeling

On July 27, 2015, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) opened the comment period for a proposed rule update that would require Nutrition Facts labels to include percent daily value (% DV) for added sugars.

The FDA, on their webpage, claim adding the information to the label will allow consumers to make more informed choices.  According to FDA, “Americans get 16 percent of their total calories from added sugars.”  Following recommendations from the 2015 Dietary Guidelines for Americans and other expert groups such as the American Heart Association, the FDA wants to encourage Americans to cut down on added sugars because they provide “no additional nutrient value” and cause individuals to “eat less nutrient rich foods.” 

In a study conducted by the FDA to see how the proposed labeling would affect consumers, the majority of participants were able to correctly identify the amount of sugars in a serving when it included an added sugars declaration.  When there was a high amount of added sugar, high amount being dependent on the food, there was a trend towards having “more negative judgments on the product’s healthfulness.” 

The Sugar Association on their online blog commented on the proposed rule as being “based on the limited and weak scientific evidence found in the 2015 Dietary Guidelines report.”  The association declared they plan to oppose the proposal.

Written by Katharine Richter - Research Assistant

July 27, 2014