WASHINGTON – The US Supreme Court ruled last week that food and drink makers can be sued for false advertising if they design and use labels on products that would “mislead and trick consumers.” It was reported that the unanimous decision could leave a lasting mark on the food industry.
The case began when a rich couple from California sued Coca-cola for claiming that a drink it calls Pomegranate Blueberry actually is made of 99.5% apple and grape juice and is less than 1% pomegranate juice. The couple owns POM Wonderful LLC, which makes and sells pomegranate juice products, including a pomegranate-blueberry juice blend. One of POM’s competitors is the Coca- Cola Company. Coca-Cola’s Minute Maid Division makes a juice blend sold with a label that, in describing the con- tents, displays the words “pomegranate blueberry” with far more prominence than other words on the label that show the juice to be a blend of five juices. In truth, the Coca-Cola product contains but 0.3% pomegranate juice and 0.2% blueberry juice.
Alleging that the use of that label is deceptive and misleading, POM sued Coca-Cola under the Lanham Act, which forbids the misbranding of food, including by means of false or mis- leading labeling.
The court ruled that competitors may bring Lanham Act claims like POM’s challenging food and beverage labels regulated by the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDCA).
“The FDCA and the Lanham Act complement each other in the federal regulation of misleading food and beverage labels,” the court said. “Competitors, in their own interest, may bring Lanham Act claims like POM’s that challenge food and beverage labels that are regulated by the FDCA.”
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