POM Wonderful prevails
This article was originally published in The Tan Sheet
Executive Summary
A federal court rules in favor of POM Wonderful July 22 in a lawsuit alleging false advertising and misleading marketing against competitor Purely Juice. The U.S. District Court for the Central California District ruling ordered Newport Beach, Calif.-based Purely Juice to pay $1.5 million in damages. The court ruled an independent lab found Purely Juice's "100 percent Pomegranate" product was adulterated, and the company "would have lost most or all of its market share had they not misrepresented the content." In a release, Los Angeles-based POM Wonderful President Matt Tupper acknowledges juice suppliers are pressured to add "sugar, colorants and cheap filler juices" as pomegranate crops struggle to keep up with consumer demand for the juice. "We hope this ruling serves as a wake-up call for all pomegranate juice producers to ensure their labels communicate clearly the origin and actual ingredients of their products," he adds. Studies have shown polyphenols in pomegranate juice to be beneficial for heart, prostate and erectile health, POM Wonderful says...