Paul Tassin  |  December 18, 2015

Category: Consumer News

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all natural food label all natural class action investigationAfter years of offering little more than soft guidelines, the Food and Drug Administration is now soliciting public comments on  whether the federal agency should regulate the use of the term natural in food labeling.

In November, the agency published a notice in the Federal Register stating that it is requesting public comment on whether the agency should define the term “natural,” regulate its use, or ban its use outright.

The agency is also seeking public guidance on what the definition of “natural” should be. They ask, for example, whether the natural labeling should be restricted to only single-ingredient foods or to raw agricultural products.

For years, and without making a formal rule of it, the FDA has maintained a policy that foods labeled as being natural should contain “nothing artificial or synthetic (including all color additives regardless of source) . . . that would not normally be expected to be in that food.”

The agency notes this policy does not address other aspects of food production that could affect consumer’s perception of whether a particular food is “natural” – factors like  irradiation, pesticides or the use of genetic engineering. The policy also does not address any nutritional or other health benefit.

While the new notice mentions the rulemaking process, it is a solicitation of comments only and does not mention any definite plans for issuing a legally enforceable rule. The period for public comment ends on Feb. 10, 2016.

Natural Sweeteners and the Nectresse Class Action Lawsuit

Federal courts have also been wrangling with the use of terms like “natural,” and some have sought the FDA’s guidance. At least three different courts have asked the FDA for administrative determinations as to the proper use of terms like “natural,” “all natural,” and “100% natural” in foods produced via bioengineering.

One court dealing with the difference between natural sweeteners and artificial sweeteners asked the agency to determine whether high fructose corn syrup qualified as a “natural” ingredient. The agency declined to make determinations in each of those cases, and courts continue to deal with the issue on their own.

In one natural sweetener class action lawsuit, McNeil Nutritionals and its parent company Johnson & Johnson may have to explain why its Nectresse sweetener should be labeled “100% natural” when its sweetening ingredient is the result of a long and complicated process.

The sweetener used in Nectresse is erythritol. While erythritol occurs naturally in plants, plaintiffs say that erythritol produced for commercial use is not something any reasonable consumer would consider “natural.”

Typically, they say, erythritol is produced from corn starch that is converted to glucose using enzymes, then fermented with yeast. The results are then sterilized and filtered to produce erythitol crystals. Plaintiffs say that process is too involved to be consistent with Nectresse’s “100% Natural” claim.

Plaintiffs in the Nectresse class action lawsuit also attack the label’s claim that Nectresse is “Made from Monk Fruit” would lead consumers to think that monk fruit is the primary ingredient, when in fact Nectresse contains only a “minute quantity” of a monk fruit-derivative known as Magou-V.

The Nectresse Class Action Lawsuit is Lorraine Viggiano v. Johnson & Johnson, et al., Case No. 56-2014-00453587-CU-BC-VTA in the Superior Court of the State of California, County of Ventura.

Join a Free Nectresse Natural Sweetener Class Action Lawsuit Investigation

If you used Nectresse Natural Sweetener No Calories Sweetener to find out that it isn’t 100% Natural as the label claimed and not made entirely from monk fruit, you may have a legal claim.

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