Watchdog Accuses PepsiCo of Misleading Claims on “Naked” Drinks

07 Oct 2016

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07 Oct 2016 --- Consumer advocacy group Center for Science in the Public Interest has filed a lawsuit in the US against PepsiCo, claiming its Naked juices and smoothies are not as healthy as they claim and the marketing is misleading to consumers.

The soft drinks giant disputes the claims describing the lawsuit as “baseless”, however the CSPI filed the class action complaint in the US District Court, New York, on Tuesday (October 4).

FoodIngredientsFirst has a copy of the claim which says: “PepsiCo markets its Naked beverages as highly nutritious drinks comprised of super nutrients – “only the best ingredients” – in liquid form. PepsiCo does this by naming each Naked beverage after a food or ingredient perceived by consumers to be highly nutritious, like kale, and filling its labels with photographs of these same ingredients.”

The CSPI claims PepsiCo is making misleading claims because the drinks’ ingredients as not exactly how they are being marketed.

“PepsiCo’s claims are false and misleading because the drinks do not have the ingredient profile represented.

Instead, Naked beverages predominantly consist of cheaper and less nutritious ingredients like apple juice,” continues the official document.

CSPI also asserts that the beverages have the claim of “No sugar added”, which is not properly qualified.

“PepsiCo also labels Naked beverages with the prominent claim, “NO SUGAR ADDED,” which consumers perceive to mean that the drinks are low in sugar - consisting primarily of the low-sugar vegetables and super ingredients heavily emphasized in juiced form. The “NO SUGAR ADDED” claim is not qualified with the words, “not a low calorie food,” nor a reference to the nutrition facts panel for information on sugar and calorie content, as required by regulations.”

The plaintiffs of the claim also includes residents of Brooklyn and Los Angeles and Chatsworth, California.

A statement sent to FoodIngredientsFirst from Naked Juice says: “This is a baseless lawsuit. There is nothing misleading about our Naked Juice products. Every bottle of Naked Juice clearly identifies the fruit and vegetables th

at are within. For example, the label on our Kale Blazer

juice accurately indicates each bottle contains 5 3/4 Kale leaves.”

“All products in the Naked portfolio proudly use fruits and/or vegetables with no sugar added, and all Non-GMO claims on label are verified by an independent third party. Any sugar present in Naked Juice products comes from the fruits and/or vegetables contained within and the sugar content is clearly reflected on label for all consumers to see. We hold ourselves to a high standard and proudly support clear and transparent labeling of all ingredients on our packaging, on our website and in our marketing.

by Gaynor Selby