NEW YORK (Legal Newsline) Coca-Cola misleads consumers about the sugar content of its Gold Peak brands of iced tea, according to a class action lawsuit.
“Defendant’s branding and packaging of the products are designed to – and do – deceive, mislead, and defraud consumers,” the suit said.
Coca-Cola gives the impression that the tea products are low in sugar “when they have significant amounts of added sugar,” according to the suit, which seeks unspecified monetary damages.
The labels include the phrases “Slightly Sweetened,” “Sweetened with 50 percent Less Sugar Than Our Sweet Tea” and “90 Calories Per Bottle,” the suit said.
“Merely because the products contain ‘less sugar’ than other tea products of the same brand does not mean they are ‘low sugar’ as understood based on the ‘slightly sweetened’ claim,” the suit said. “Far from being “slightly sweetened” and low in sugar, sugar is the second-most predominant ingredient in the product by weight.”
The suit was filed Feb. 8 by Monique Salerno on behalf of other consumers who purchased the products. She is represented by Spencer Sheehan and Michael R. Reese.
United States District Court Eastern District of New York 1:20-cv-00711