'All Natural' Simply Orange Juice Has High Toxic PFAS Levels, Lawsuit Alleges; Coca Cola [View all]

-'All-natural’ Simply Orange Juice has high toxic PFAS levels, lawsuit alleges,' The Guardian, Jan. 19, 2023. - Ed.

- Coca-Cola claimed juice was healthy despite toxic ‘forever chemicals’ levels ‘hundreds of times’ above federal limits, suit says -

Simply’s marketing, the complaint says, ‘is intentionally designed to drive sales and increase profits by targeting health-conscious consumers’. A new class-action lawsuit in the US alleges Coca-Cola and Simply Orange Juice deceived customers with claims of an all-natural, healthy product when the juice has been found to be contaminated with toxic PFAS at levels “hundreds of times” above federal advisory limits for drinking water.

PFAS are a class of about 12,000 chemicals typically used to make thousands of consumer products resist water, stains & heat. They are called “forever chemicals” because they do not naturally break down, & they are linked to cancer, fetal complications, liver disease, kidney disease, autoimmune disorders & other serious health issues.

Water is considered to be a main exposure route, but researchers have recently found contaminated food to be more of a risk than previously thought.

Still, the FDA has taken little action to address food contamination. It annually tests some food products for the chemicals, but developed a methodology that ignores what public health advocates say are dangerous levels. “As we get better & better able to measure PFAS at lower levels & the FDA falls further behind on what it is testing … then you’re going to keep seeing these lawsuits pop up,” said Tom Neltner, chemicals policy director with the Environmental Defense Fund, a non-profit that pressures the FDA to take stronger action on PFAS.

The suit, filed in the southern district of New York, asks a judge to order monetary compensation and take other “appropriate” steps. Attorneys for the plaintiffs & Coca Cola did not respond to multiple requests for comment. The complaint takes aim at several specific claims on Simply’s packaging & branding, including mentions of “all natural ingredients”, “simply natural”, & “nothing to hide”. The inclusion of “filtered water” leads “reasonable consumers to believe that additional care has been taken to remove any incidental chemicals or impurities,” the complaint states. --

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/jan/19/simply-orange-juice-coca-cola-pfas-class-action-lawsuit
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- Also: 'Lawsuit: "Simply Orange" Juice Contains Toxic Levels of PFAS,' Daily Kos, Jan. 19, 2023
* The 33 comments following the article are interesting. (Are cans of Frozen OJ lined with BISPHENOL?)
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/1/19/2148092/-Lawsuit-Simply-Orange-Juice-Contains-Toxic-Levels-of-PFAS