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CSPI Praises Move and Drops Planned Lawsuit
WASHINGTON---Cadbury-Schweppes will no longer market 7UP as “All Natural” according to a
statement
put out by the company. Rather, the company will highlight ingredients
“for which there is no debate” over whether they are natural, which
will obviously exclude the controversial factory-made sweetener known
as high-fructose corn syrup. The Center for Science in the Public
Interest (CSPI) will drop
a planned lawsuit
against the company now that the misleading “all natural” claims will
be halted. CSPI notified Cadbury-Schweppes of the possibility of a
lawsuit in May and has discussed labeling issues with the company off
and on since then.
“We are pleased that Cadbury-Schweppes has
fixed what was a flawed and deceptive marketing campaign and that this
issue was resolved without our actually suing,” said CSPI litigation
director Steve Gardner. “We look forward to seeing exactly which words
the company uses to describe its ingredients on labels and on marketing
materials, but trust they won’t imply that high-fructose corn syrup is
‘natural.’”
High-fructose corn syrup is nutritionally
similar to natural table sugar, which comes from sugar cane or sugar
beets. But in to contrast to table sugar, high-fructose corn syrup is
made through a complex chemical industrial process in which corn starch
molecules are enzymatically reassembled into glucose and fructose
molecules.
CSPI’s litigation unit has encouraged several
major food companies, including Quaker, Frito-Lay, Procter &
Gamble, Tropicana, and Pinnacle Foods, to halt deceptive labeling or
marketing practices. KFC stopped using partially hydrogenated oils
after being sued by CSPI, and Cadbury-Schweppes and other soda
manufacturers avoided a CSPI-led lawsuit by agreeing to phase sugary
sodas out of schools. In coming weeks and months CSPI may file
previously announced lawsuits against Coca-Cola and Nestlé (over
Enviga
,
a deceptively labeled green tea drink positioned as a weight-loss aid)
and Kellogg and Viacom (for marketing junk foods to young children).
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For Immediate Release:
Friday, January 12, 2007
Contact:
Jeff Cronin, 202-777-8370 or Patti Truant 202-777-8316
