Most people know that jelly beans contain sugar. A California woman, however, says she was left in the dark and now wants retribution. Jessica Gomez says she purchased Jelly Belly's Sport Beans—advertised as a supplement for carbohydrates, electrolytes, and vitamins—believing the candy had a lot less sugar than it actually does. Sugar, she notes, was not listed in the candy's ingredients. Only later did she realize that "evaporated cane juice," which was listed, was essentially the same thing, reports Forbes. Now, in a class-action lawsuit, Gomez argues Jelly Belly's omission of the word "sugar" from the label was a deliberate attempt by the company to deceive consumers. And Munchies notes she's backed up by FDA guidelines on the matter.
Last year, the FDA stated that "juice" on a label should only be used to refer to juice from a fruit or vegetable because replacing the word "sugar" with "evaporated cane juice" is indeed deceptive. However, the FDA wrote that the guideline "does not establish any rights for any person and is not binding of FDA or the public." Jelly Belly describes Gomez's suit as, in a word, "nonsense." In a motion to dismiss filed in April, the company says "no reasonable consumer could have been deceived by Sport Beans' labeling" since "the product's sugar content" is clear on the label. It adds "the plaintiff does not explain why an athlete—or anyone—would be surprised to find sugar in a product described as 'Jelly Beans.'" It's not the only candy suit to make recent headlines: This man is taking Hershey's to court. (More Jelly Belly stories.)
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