A Florida woman is suing Kraft Foods Inc., accusing the Northfield-based company of mislabeling its Capri Sun juice drinks.
The lawsuit was filed Monday in a Palm Beach County court by Boynton Beach, Fla., resident Linda Rex and is backed by the advocacy group, the Center for Science in the Public Interest.
Both call the foil pouches “almost juice-less,” and said the lunch box staple doesn’t deserve its “all natural” title since it contains high-fructose corn syrup.
“Though Capri Sun claims to be ’All Natural,’ its main flavoring would more accurately be called ’Fresh from the Factory,”’ Michael Jacobson, executive director of the Washington, D.C.-based organization said in a statement. “Let’s put it this way: Unless you and your chemist friends are prepared to undertake a little Manhattan Project in your kitchen, you won’t be brewing any high-fructose corn syrup from scratch anytime soon.”
Rex said in a statement that she bought a pack of Capri Sun for a young relative, thinking the foil pouches were healthier than soft drinks.
“But when I got home and got out my glasses, I threw it in the garbage when I realized it contained high-fructose corn syrup and was nearly identical to soda,” she said.
A Kraft spokeswoman could not immediately comment on the suit.
High-fructose corn syrup, a popular sweetener found in most soft drinks, is made from corn starch.
The Center for Science in the Public Interest, which has sued Quaker Oats, Frito-Lay and other food companies for mislabeling food, said corn syrup doesn’t qualify as an “all-natural” ingredient because its chemical bonds are broken and rearranged in the manufacturing process.