Chobani Must Face Lawsuit Over Zero-Sugar Yogurt Claim, Appeals Court Rules

A national appeals tribunal has revived a projected class-action suit accusing Chobani of deceiving consumers by falsely advertizing immoderate of its Greek-style yogurt arsenic sweetener free.

The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals successful Chicago ruled connected July 27 that consumers tin effort to amusement Chobani violated authorities user extortion laws due to the fact that its Chobani Zero Sugar yogurt contained 4 grams per serving of allulose, a people occurring sweetener.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulates the contents of Nutrition Facts panels connected merchandise packaging, and says companies whitethorn not statement nutrient arsenic “zero sugar” oregon “sugar free” unless it contains little than 0.5 grams of sweetener per serving.

Writing for a three-judge panel, Circuit Judge Thomas Kirsch recovered persuasive an FDA little that said full sugars included each monosaccharides, including allulose. Kirsch rejected Chobani’s statement that allulose did not suffice due to the fact that the FDA regularisation listed lone glucose, fructose, lactose and sucrose arsenic examples.

“The agency’s little is thorough, its reasoning is valid, and its presumption is accordant with earlier FDA statements astir allulose and (its regulation),” Kirsch wrote.

In a statement, Chobani called allulose a people occurring non-sugar sweetener. “The Nutrition Facts sheet accurately shows the yogurt contains 0g full sweetener and 0g added sugar,” the New York-based institution said.

The named plaintiffs, James Franco and Abigail Franco, said they bought Chobani Zero Sugar yogurt astatine a Costco adjacent Chicago successful 2023, and would not person done truthful oregon would person paid little had they known its sweetener content.

Kirsch said it did not substance whether tenable consumers would attraction astir allulose. “The Francos person alleged that consumers were fooled by Chobani’s labels, and fixed the implicit committedness connected Chobani’s products (sugar free), we bash not find that allegation implausible,” Kirsch wrote.

The appeals tribunal returned the lawsuit to a national justice successful Chicago.

A lawyer for the Francos declined to comment.

The determination came 1 time aft a Manhattan national justice rejected Chobani’s bid to disregard a suit by Danone, which makes Dannon yogurt, claiming it copied packaging and a slogan for a enactment of ready-to-drink cold-brew coffee.

Topics Lawsuits Legislation