Jelly Belly Buyers Fight Dismissal of ‘Cane Juice’ Class Action Lawsuit

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In a class action lawsuit alleging Jelly Belly “Sport Beans” are falsely advertised as healthier than they really are, the plaintiff asked a federal judge to dump Jelly Belly’s motion to dismiss.

Lead plaintiff Jessica Gomez states in her class action lawsuit that Jelly Belly’s product called “Sports Beans” are misleadingly advertised as healthy because, among other things, Jelly Belly includes “evaporated cane juice” rather than “sugar” on the ingredient list.

Jelly Belly argued that the claims should be dismissed because the class action relies on guidance issued by the Food and Drug Administration and not legally binding regulations. The plaintiff argues the contrary in the opposition motion saying that the FDA guidance from 2016 is binding.

According to the class action’s opposition to the dismissal, 2009 draft guidance that was eventually finalized in 2016 simply applies federal law to facts which determined that if a sweetener is derived from sugar cane, it cannot be called “evaporated cane juice.”

The FDA issued final guidance declaring that it considers use of the term “evaporated cane juice” as an ingredient on food labels to be “false and misleading” under federal law in 2016. Instead, said the agency, any sweetener made from sugar cane should be called by its common name, “sugar.”

The plaintiff also fought Jelly Belly’s assertion that only athletes with nutritional know-how consumed Sport Beans. “There is nothing about this label that limits the population of consumers to athletes, in fact, a person who is less athletic may be more prone to seek this product as it appears to promote sports performance, something a non-athlete may very much want before engaging in physical activity,” contends the plaintiff in the opposition.

Further, argues the class action plaintiff, Jelly Belly does not explain why athletes would know that evaporated cane juice is sugar and Jelly Belly confused the issue by including the ingredient list for one type of Sport Bean in its motion to dismiss.

“According to defendant, when an ingredient list contains a ‘juice,’ a syrup and a juice from concentrate, an athlete will naturally know that the first juice is not a juice at all, but a mislabeled sugar and will therefore not be misled,” contends the plaintiff. “Such an ingredient list is likely to deceive consumers anywhere even if the ‘target population’ is athletes.”

Further, Gomez argues that “[i]t is not unreasonable that even a high-performance athlete would be misled by a label that lists a ‘juice’ that is not a juice but is actually a type of syrup next to an actual type of syrup and alongside a juice that is actually a juice from concentrate.”

The Jelly Belly class action lawsuit filed in February alleges that the “Sport Bean” product was misleading advertised as “energizing” and containing “carbs, electrolytes, and vitamins.” The plaintiff claims that Jelly Belly’s advertising is in violation of the Consumer Legal Remedies Act and California’s False Advertising Law.

Gomez is represented by Thomas W. Kohler and Ryan M. Ferrell of Apex Trial Law.

The Jelly Belly “Evaporated Cane Juice” Class Action Lawsuit is Gomez v. Jelly Belly Candy Company, et al.,  Case No. 5:17-­cv­-00575, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.