IFLR’s Kris DeAngelo and Neal Fortin offered commentary in The Detroit News' recent article “Poppi, a favorite soda among Gen Z, got sued. Here's why that matters.”
A woman in California recently filed a class action against the Poppi soda brand for their claims that their product promotes gut health. The class action complaint is available online, here.
MSU Institute for Food Laws and Regulation's directors Neal Fortin and Kris DeAngelo commented on why there is unlikely to be FDA guidance on such health claims any time soon, and the disincentive this creates for companies to conduct scientific studies to support such claims.
DeAngelo says industry needs direction about what threshold of pre- and probiotics food must contain before they can claim a health benefit. However, the FDA is underfunded and has higher priorities where it needs to focus its limited resources.
Fortin adds that for food companies, spending on marketing brings a better return on investment than scientific studies when it comes to making health claims on food products. "Research is expensive and takes time," he said. "If you develop a new drug and prove it's safe and effective, you get an exclusive use of that drug. But if a company develops a prebioitic soda and does the research on inulin, anybody can use it. Companies invest more money in marketing because it brings a better return than science."
Read the full article in The Detroit News: Poppi, a favorite soda among Gen Z, got sued. Here's why that matters
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Disclaimer.
Learn more about the laws and regulations that govern human food ingredients with MSU's Institute for Food Laws and Regulations. Particularly the following courses:
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