United States sugar growers have brought a lawsuit against a number of high profile agribusinesses, accusing corporate members of the Corn Refiners Association (CRA) of deceiving the public; they claim the large businesses are using a multi-million dollar advertising campaign to rebrand their High Fructose Corn Syrup product under the guise of the CRA.

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Sugar cane and sugar beet growers claim the manufacturers of High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS), have conspired to deceive the public over a campaign to rebrand and rename the highly controversial product, which has received unremitting bad press in recent years, as a ‘natural’ product akin to sugar beet and sugar cane.  

The claimants allege senior executives of agribusiness conglomerates, including Archer-​Daniels-​Midland, Cargill and others “organised collectively in order to dominate and control” the ongoing marketing campaign to rename HFCS ‘corn sugar’. As part of their campaign, the agribusinesses also claim the product is a ‘natural’ one, no different from beet and cane sugar.

Last month, a federal judge in Los Angeles ruled that a coalition of American sugar farmers and producers stood “a reasonable probability of success” in proving the claims of HFCS producers are untrue. The syrup, widely used in sweet drinks, has sparked controversy over alleged health concerns it causes. Widely used in apiculture in the US, a 2009 study found that in high temperatures, the sucrose replacement forms a toxin which is poisonous to bees.

The farmers and producers claim Archer-​Daniels-​Midland, Cargill, Corn Products International, Roquette America and Tate & Lyle Ingredients America, have conspired to engage in false advertising as part of their campaign; they say the rebrand would deliberately confuse customers. CRA has attempted to adopt the name ‘corn sugar’, despite the fact that it is already in use in the country as a name for dextrose, a different corn starch product.