Jelly Belly Class Action Says ‘Evaporated Cane Juice’ Label is Misleading

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The Jelly Belly Candy Company is facing a class action lawsuit alleging its use of the term “evaporated cane juice” as an ingredient is misleading because it leads some consumers to think that the product has less sugar than it actually contains.

Plaintiff Jason Allen of Missouri claims he made the decision to purchase Jelly Belly candy after seeing “evaporated cane juice” as an ingredient.

According to the Jelly Belly class action lawsuit, he was deceived by the term and believed that the sweetener was “juice” and not the same thing as sugar.

Allen describes himself in the Jelly Belly class action lawsuit as a consumer who is interested in purchasing food items that do not contain added sugar.

He claims that he would not have purchased Jelly Belly products, or would have paid less for them, if he had known they contained sugar disguised as evaporated cane juice.

In the Jelly Belly class action lawsuit, Allen points to guidance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in May 2016 which made clear that the term “evaporated cane juice” is not the common name of any type of sweetener and should therefore be listed as “sugar” so as not to mislead consumers.

“Knowing that consumers like Plaintiff are increasingly interested in purchasing products that do not contain added sugar, Defendant has sought to take advantage of this growing market by labeling certain products as containing ECJ instead of sugar,” the Jelly Belly class action lawsuit asserts.

Allen claims that Jelly Belly is able to entice consumers to pay a premium for the products and/or purchase more of the products than they would if they knew that evaporated cane juice is the same thing as sugar. He says that the products are deceptive, false, unfair and misleading because they list evaporated cane juice instead of sugar on the product labels.

“The FDA could not be more clear: ‘Sweeteners derived from sugar cane should not be listed in the ingredient declarations by names such as ‘evaporated cane juice,’ which suggests that the ingredients are made from or contain fruit or vegetable ‘juice[.]’ We consider such representations to be false and misleading,” the Jelly Belly class action lawsuit states.

By filing the Jelly Belly class action lawsuit, Allen seeks to represent a Class of Missouri residents who purchased any of the following Jelly Belly products for personal or household use within the last five years: Superfruit Mix, Sport Beans, and/or Sport Beans Extreme.

Allen’s Jelly Belly class action lawsuit asserts violations of Missouri’s Merchandising Practices Act and unjust enrichment. He seeks compensatory damages, declaratory and equitable relief, pre- and post-judgment interest, reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs, and any other relief deemed proper by the court.

Allen is represented by Matthew H. Armstrong of Armstrong Law Firm LLC and Stuart L. Cochran of Cochran Law PLLC.

The Jelly Belly Evaporated Cane Juice Class Action Lawsuit is Jason Allen v. Jelly Belly Candy Company, Case No. 4:17-cv-00588, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri.