Sugar Producers, Corn Syrup Makers Settle Huge Court Battle
The settlement ends a years-long, billion-dollar battle around the branding of high fructose corn syrup as “corn sugar.”
Photo © iStockphoto.com/Maksud_kr
Sugar producers and makers of high fructose corn syrup reached a settlement on Friday to a billion-dollar legal battle that has raged for years. The secret, out-of-court settlement ends a dispute that revolved around the way some corn syrup makers rebranded their ingredient as “corn sugar.”
The case began in 2011, when Western Sugar Cooperative (Denver) and other sugar producers filed a lawsuit against makers of high fructose corn syrup for marketing their ingredient as “corn sugar.” Much of the controversy revolved around a TV advertisement launched by corn refiners that claimed, “sugar is sugar,” and “your body can’t tell the difference,” in relation to high fructose corn syrup. On the basis of a false-advertising claim, sugar producers were seeking $1.5 billion in the case, according to a report by the Associated Press (AP).
The defendants in the case, including Archer Daniels Midland (ADM; Chicago), Cargill (Minneapolis), and corn refiners, would eventually go on to countersue for $530 million based on what they considered false and misleading statements from the sugar industry, such as the claim that high fructose corn syrup is as addictive as crack cocaine, according to the AP.
Both parties agreed to the settlement on Friday at the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California (Los Angeles). Terms of the settlement were not disclosed.
Read more:
Structure Function Claims Win in Bayer vs the FTC Case
Sugar Producers Take High Fructose Corn Syrup to Court
Tapioca Syrup is a Corn Syrup Replacer
Michael Crane
Associate Editor
Nutritional Outlook Magazine
michael.crane@ubm.com
Judge denies CRN’s motion for preliminary injunction but its lawsuit against NY state will proceed
April 23rd 2024The judge in CRN's lawsuit against NY state's law banning the sale of weight management and muscle building supplements to minors has denied its motion for a preliminary injunction, but determined that CRN has standing to sue on behalf of its members.
Arla Foods to acquired whey nutrition business from Volac International
April 22nd 2024Arla Foods Ingredients has reached an agreement to acquire Volac’s Whey Nutrition business through a purchase of shares in Volac Whey Nutrition Holdings Limited and its subsidiary, Volac Whey Nutrition Limited and Volac Renewable Energy Limited.
