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2007-9-4 12:25:17 |
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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 Nestl¨¦ (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). --30-- |
