Dive Brief:
- Cargill will settle a lawsuit over claims that its Truvia tagline, "Nature's calorie-free sweetener," is misleading, potentially pre-empting a class-action suit.
- Plaintiffs argued that Truvia can not claim to be "natural" because it is highly processed and/or derived from GMOs.
- Cargill will set aside the $5 million to pay refunds or vouchers, and the company has agreed to modify its tagline and packaging, though it did not outline the exact nature of those changes.
- A court must decide whether or not to accept Cargill's proposal and apply it nationwide.
Dive Insight:
Cargill's offer to settle for just $5 million and some labeling changes seems like a very wise move for the company. However, it seems to us that Cargill, other giant food processing companies, and numerous food brands must find a better long-term approach to this issue.
Hundreds of similar, small-scale lawsuits are popping up across the nation as consumers, activists and health officials fight the use of "natural" labeling for products containing GMOs, high-fructose corn syrup and other highly processed ingredients. Our sense is that these lawsuits are only going to increase. Industry's idea of "natural" does not mesh with that of consumers. Modifying crops and extracting compounds to create ingredients may be cost-effective. It may even be healthy and good for the environment. But it's not "natural" in any way that consumers will accept.
Disagree? We have just one word for you: plastics. Plastics are great. Plastics have changed the world. And plastics are engineered from petroleum, a naturally occurring mixture of organic compounds.
But plastics ain't "natural."