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Costco Drink Mix Sued Over Hidden Sugar Claim
17 Oct
Summary
- A lawsuit claims Costco's electrolyte drink mix contains allulose, a type of sugar.
- The FDA allows manufacturers to omit allulose from sugar labeling, causing confusion.
- Nearly 60 lawsuits have targeted 'zero sugar' labels on products sweetened with allulose.
A class action lawsuit filed on September 30 claims Costco's Kirkland Signature electrolyte drink mix is deceptively marketed as sugar-free. The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, alleges the product contains allulose, which the plaintiff asserts is a sugar under federal and Illinois labeling standards.
Maldonado, the plaintiff, claims he would not have purchased the product or would have paid less had he known about the allulose content. The lawsuit seeks damages for purchasers and an order to correct the labeling, citing the marketing as "health-washing."
This litigation is part of a broader trend, with nearly 60 lawsuits filed against food producers regarding "zero sugar" labels on allulose-sweetened products as of September. The Food and Drug Administration's 2020 guidance allows companies to omit allulose from "Total Sugars" and "Added Sugars" declarations, despite it being a sugar, provided it's counted toward "Total Carbohydrates."
As of October 15, 2026, Costco has not filed a response, and the court has not yet decided whether to certify the case as a class action. The company has not publicly commented on the lawsuit.
