The FDA announced yesterday that it is revisiting a draft guidance issued in 2009 that generated a significant amount of class action litigation over the last year. In 2009, the FDA issued a draft guidance outlining its position regarding the use of “evaporated cane juice” to describe sweeteners derived from sugar cane syrup. In the draft guidance, the FDA indicates that describing the sweeteners as juice “fail[s] to reveal the basic nature of the food and its characterizing properties” and therefore considers the use of “evaporated cane juice” to be misleading under the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (the FDCA).

On Wednesday, the FDA indicated that it is reopening the comment period on its 2009 draft guidance to obtain additional data and information to better understand the basic nature and characterizing properties of the ingredient, the methods of producing it, and the differences between the ingredient and other sweeteners. The FDA is seeking comments regarding whether others agree with its determination that the term “evaporated cane juice” does not convey the basic nature of the ingredient. It is also interested in how “evaporated cane juice” compares to other sweeteners derived from sugar cane, such as raw sugar and cane sugar, that use “sugar” or “syrup” in their name.
Continue Reading The Name Game: FDA Revisits its 2009 Draft Guidance on ‘Evaporated Cane Juice’