On September 18, 2015, two women filed a class action lawsuit against Welch Foods for misleading consumers to believe the company’s Welch’s Fruit Snacks are healthier than they are.  Welch’s Fruit Snacks packaging states that the snacks contain 100% Vitamin C and 25% Vitamin A & E.  The plaintiffs alleged that Welch’s Fruit Snacks break what is known to the food industry as the “jelly bean rule.”  The jelly bean rule refers to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) fortification policy, in which FDA states that the agency does not consider it appropriate to fortify sugars or snack foods with vitamins and minerals.

The plaintiffs also took issue with the fact that Welch boasts that its fruit snacks are made with real fruit.  The snacks are “devoid of the health benefits plaintiffs and other reasonable consumers associate with consuming real fruit,” the plaintiffs said in their complaint.  Although the first ingredient in many of Welch’s Fruit Snacks are juice from concentrate or fruit purees, the following ingredients are corn syrup, sugar, and corn starch.

Welch is not the first company to be targeted due to misleading ingredient claims and unapproved fortification.  In 2014, pomegranate juice manufacturer POM Wonderful  sued Coca-Cola for marketing its product as Pomegranate Blueberry juice when in fact it only contained .3% pomegranate juice.  In April 2015, the Attorney General issued a warning letter to Snap Infusion LLC regarding the fortification of their SmartCandy.

It’s always a good idea to be informed of U.S. FDA policies and relevant regulatory actions before labeling and making claims about a food product.  Registrar Corp stays up-to-date on U.S. FDA food labeling regulations and cases regarding food labeling and can help food manufacturers properly label their products.  Registrar Corp Label & Ingredient Review Specialists reference food labels against thousands of pages within the Code of Federal Regulations as well as Guidance Documents, Warning Letters, and more.  Clients receive a detailed report, along with a print-ready graphic file of their revised label.

For information or assistance with food labeling regulations, contact Registrar Corp at +1-757-224-0177 or chat with a Regulatory Advisor 24 hours a day at www.registrarcorp.com/livehelp.

About Registrar Corp: Registrar Corp is an FDA compliance consulting firm that helps companies with U.S. FDA Regulations, including label and ingredient reviews. Founded in 2003, Registrar Corp has assisted more than 20,000 companies to comply with FDA requirements. With 18 global offices, Registrar Corp’s team of multilingual Regulatory Specialists can help companies comply with U.S. FDA regulations.

This post was originally published as a press release.