In a time when well-done steak with ketchup may be the national dish of the United States, we may as well try to pass off jelly beans as a health food. That’s what bean-shaped candy giant Jelly Belly figures, anyway. The company has a line of “Sport Beans” that it markets as exercise supplements. Unfortunately for Jelly Belly, someone was tricked into thinking these sugary legume-shaped treats might actually be healthy, and they have filed a lawsuit against the company.
Jessica Gomez has filed a class-action suit in the United States District Court Central District of California, alleging Jelly Belly attempts to dupe consumers into thinking the Sport Beans do not contain sugar. Gomez alleges the product’s list of ingredients includes evaporated cane juice, which is, of course, sugar. She cites a warning from the Food and Drug Administration that calls this sort of labeling misleading because it does not reflect the “common name.”
Jelly Belly produces several varieties of Sport Beans, and as of this posting, an official website lists “cane sugar” as the top ingredient in each product. It’s unclear if this reflects a change made since Gomez filed filed her lawsuit, but evidence suggests packaging previously listed the ingredient as “evaporated cane juice.” In a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, Jelly Belly called Gomez’s claim “nonsense.”
“No reasonable consumer could have been deceived by Sport Beans’ labeling — Gomez could not have seen ‘evaporated cane juice’ without also seeing the product’s sugar content on its Nutrition Facts panel,” the motion reads. “And she has pled no facts to suggest that athletes, who consume this product to sustain intense exercise, would want to avoid sugar rather than affirmatively seek it.”
No matter the outcome of this case, the moral of the story is: Jelly beans are not health food, even if they bear the ridiculous name of “Sport Beans.” Do not consume jelly beans in an attempt to be healthy.
• Jelly Belly Sued by Woman Claiming She Didn't Know Jelly Beans Contain Sugar [Fox]
• All Lawsuits Coverage [E]