The sugar
and corn sweetener industries have reached an out-of-court settlement in a
bitter lawsuit launched in U.S. District Court in California.
Terms of
the settlement have not been revealed.
The two giant
industries accused each other of false claims about how their products harm the
health of people, and they each brought reams of scientific opinions and
studies to the trial.
Corn sweetener sales
have declined, partly because more people are concerned about obesity.
"The parties had
been trying to work on an agreement for a month before trial, and these things
take time," W. Mark Lanier, an attorney for the sugar processors, told
Reuters news agency.
A representative for
corn refiners, chief among them Archer, Daniel Midlands, declined to comment.
Several sugar refiners
including global leader ASR Group alleged in a 2011 lawsuit that a Corn
Refiners Association advertising campaign describing high fructose corn syrup
as "corn sugar" and "natural" was false.
The corn refiners
countersued, saying the Sugar Association falsely said in its newsletter that
corn syrup caused obesity and cancer.
Corn refiners argued
that sugar processors were not damaged because they enjoyed record sales and
profits during the ad campaign.
The sugar growers
sought $1.1 billion in compensatory damages over the campaign. The corn
refiners asked for about $530 million in their countersuit.
A joint statement issued
after the settlement was neutral about which product is healthier.
Both industries
"continue their commitments to practices that encourage safe and healthful
use of their products, including moderation in the consumption of table sugar,
high fructose corn syrup and other sweeteners," the parties said.
The U.S. Food and Drug
Administration in 2012 ruled that corn syrup, used to sweeten foods including
soda, could not be called sugar.
