POM Wonderful and Coca-Cola have been in legal dispute for years over deceptive labeling. Now, the Supreme Court is getting involved.

Jenna Blumenfeld, Freelancer

April 20, 2014

1 Min Read
Supreme Court to review POM and Coca-Cola's clash

Today the Supreme Court will review a case between POM Wonderful LLC and industry giant Coca-Cola.

POM accused the beverage behemoth for falsely labeling and advertising Minute Maid’s “Pomegranate Blueberry” juice. Despite prominent photos of both fruits on the package, the product actually contains just 0.2 percent blueberry juice and 0.3 percent pomegranate juice. The rest is a blend of apple and grape juice. 

In Coca-Cola's defense, the Minute Maid label complied with FDA labeling regulations, which permit products may be named after ingredients supplying primary flavor.

But this dispute isn’t just about superfruits. The crux of the case will fall on the Lanham Act, which disallows deceptive statements about products. “The legal questions before the Supreme Court are discrete, but boil down to whether a company like Pom can sue another company (Coca-Cola) for a misleading label that has been interpreted as permissible by the Food and Drug Administration,” reports an article in AdWeek.

“The foregoing requirements under the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDCA) as amended by the NLEA are not, as such, privately enforceable,” says a legal brief filed late 2013. Read: As many aspects of food labeling and marketing are regulated by FDCA, Coca-Cola argues that a private company such as POM cannot accuse the company of such labeling woes in the first place.

“Once Congress and FDA consider and directly approve a label statement as accurate and non-misleading, a private party cannot contest that very statement, or attempt to show that it is or false or deceptive, under another federal statute,” say Coke’s legal filings

Recall that POM was also in legal battle with the FTC for claiming pomegranate juice was clinically proven to reduce the risk of heart disease, prostate cancer, and erectile dysfunction. 

About the Author(s)

Jenna Blumenfeld

Freelancer

Jenna Blumenfeld lives in Boulder, Colorado, where she reports on the natural products industry, sustainable agriculture, and all things plant based. 

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