Food Labeling Laws

Now I'm not the type that really reads the "ingredients" on the labels of food products, but for some reason, I had bought a bottle of Dole Pineapple-Orange juice and decided to look at the label. First thing listed was filtered water followed by pineapple concentrate. But the next listed ingredient listed was apple juice, then orange juice concentrate. You would think that if apple juice was a higher listed ingredient than orange juice, that they would have to list apple juice on the carton. But there is no such mention of any kind of apple juice.

So I went to the Dole website and found out how to contact them and sent them an email asking them why apple juice didn't have to be listed on the carton since it's the third listed ingredient and above orange juice concentrate.

Well Dole got back to me right away, but they referred me to the company that actually packages the product for them to sell. Now this was about six months ago and the company still hasn't gotten back to me. Now I don't think they'd illegally sell this product so they must know what they're doing. But I wonder just what is the law regarding ingredients?

I don't think you're required to name your product based on the largest amount of ingredients. Juice like Sunny D don't mention what's even in it. They probably just pick the combination of whatever sounds the most appetizing. It would sound much less appetizing to have flour cookies with chocolate chips.

The requirement is with listing of ingredients, in predominant order, not in the marketing.

Apples are like the 11th ingredient in Apple Jacks, behind a lot of crap and corn, for that matter. But Kellogg's isn't required to label them Corn Jacks.

I'm surprised Sunny D doesn't list its ingredients. I thought they were required by law to do so. You don't want to know what's in it. You might as well pour the kids a soda for breakfast.

Since Dole sells the juice and it has the Dole name on the label, they should take responsibility for it and not pass it off to their vendor.

I'm sure Sunny D does list it's ingredients. I just meant that by the name it isn't really evident what is in the bottle. I assume there's no sun in there.

Ahh got it, Julie.

Yeah, it's almost entirely sugar water. Less than 2% orange concentrate.

This would never happen with Libby's. Because if it has Libby's Libby's Libby's on the the label, label, label you will like it ... Oh never mind.

When my kids were little I read a news article about the Sunny D factory having a spill of their food coloring into a nearby stream and all the fish died. I don't give that stuff to my kids.

Julie, I can think of a few people I would treat to a glass of Sunny D.

Sunny D always gets chosen over that purple stuff.