A federal appeals court has ruled that Chobani must face a lawsuit over its zero-sugar yogurt claim. The lawsuit, filed by consumers James and Abigail Franco, alleges that Chobani’s Chobani Zero Sugar yogurt contains four grams of allulose, a naturally occurring sweetener, per serving.

Regulatory Background

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates the contents of Nutrition Facts panels on product packaging and says companies may not label food as “zero sugar” or “sugar free” unless it contains less than 0.5 grams of sugar per serving. The FDA considers allulose to be a sugar, and Chobani’s labeling is therefore allegedly misleading.

The 7th US Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago rejected Chobani’s argument that allulose does not qualify as a sugar because the FDA regulation listed only glucose, fructose, lactose, and sucrose as examples. The court found the FDA’s brief to be thorough and valid, and its position consistent with earlier FDA statements about allulose.

Chobani has stated that allulose is a naturally occurring non-sugar sweetener and that the Nutrition Facts panel accurately shows the yogurt contains 0g total sugar and 0g added sugar. However, the court ruled that it does not matter whether reasonable consumers would care about allulose, as the plaintiffs have alleged that consumers were fooled by Chobani’s labels.

Original reporting: Appleton, WI News Feed (HLL/CB) — read the source article.