A lawsuit alleges that PepsiCo “misleadingly markets Naked Juice as predominantly containing high-value ingredients such as acai berry and kale, when the predominant ingredient is usually cheap, nutrient-poor apple juice.” But PepsiCo says the lawsuit is baseless and the drinks clearly identify the fruits and vegetables used.
The Center for Science in the Public Interest – a ‘nonprofit nutrition and food-safety watchdog group’ – say that consumers are paying higher prices for the expensive ingredients advertised on the labels, when the predominant ingredient is ‘usually cheap, nutrient-poor apple juice’.
The CSPI also claims that a ‘no sugar added’ label implies products are low in sugar, ‘when the drinks are high in sugar’. But PepsiCo says the sugar present comes from fruits and/or vegetables, and that sugar content is clearly labelled.
In the lawsuit filed this week, three plaintiffs allege that PepsiCo’s drinks do not have the ingredient profile that consumers are led to believe.
The plaintiffs claim that they would not have purchased Naked beverages had they known that the products ‘lacked the ingredient value and nutritional profile marketed by PepsiCo’.
The CSPI references the products Kale Blazer and Green Machine.
In the case of Kale Blazer, the label features leaves of kale, leafy greens, and cucumber slices. The text reads ‘Kale is king of the garden’ and references the inclusion of cucumber, spinach, celery and ginger.
“​Advertisements for the product on social media and elsewhere similarly exaggerate the presence of kale in the product,” ​says the CSPI.
However, the CSPI emphasizes that the primary ingredient in Kale Blazer is orange juice, and the third most common ingredient is apple juice.
Kale Blazer ingredients (as displayed on PepsiCo’s website) are: orange juice, kale puree, apple juice, cucumber juice, spinach juice, celery puree, ginger juice, lemon juice and natural flavors.
“A 15 oz. bottle has eight teaspoons of sugar, largely from orange and apple juice. In comparison, a 12 oz. can of Pepsi has 10 teaspoons of sugar,”​ it says.
CSPI, along with law firm Reese LLP, filed suit​​ in the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York this week, ‘on behalf of consumers in California and New York’.