Bakery Shut Down After FDA Finds Sugar in Sugar-Free Snacks

 

By Gillian Mohney

Mar 14, 2013

The Butterfly Bakery was found to have mislabeled fat and  sugar content. (Facebook)

A New Jersey bakery shut its doors at the urging of the FDA after their baked goods were found to be seasoned with a bit more sugar and fat than what appeared on the label.

The Butterfly Bakery, based in Clifton, started in 1998 with a focus on producing delicious baked goods that wouldn’t ruin a diet, but an FDA investigation revealed a few of those snacks were not quite as healthy as advertised.

The investigation conducted over a number of years found that some products labeled “sugar-free” did in fact contain sugar and others contained more fat than what appeared on the label. One of the worst offenders was the company’s No Sugar Added Blueberry Muffin, which had a saturated fat content 360 percent more than what appeared on the label. Their Sugar Free Double Chocolate Chip Muffin was even worse, with 444 percent more saturated fat than what was listed on the label.

The Butterfly Bakery has entered into a consent decree with the FDA, which means the bakery has halted production and distribution in order to comply with the FDA’s regulations. An injunction was issued by federal judge Dennis Cavanaugh.

“This injunction demonstrates that the FDA will seek enforcement action against companies that mislead consumers on the products they purchase,” Melinda K.  Plaisier, the FDA’s acting associate commissioner for regulatory affairs, said in a press release. “Until Butterfly Bakery meets FDA regulations, it will no longer be able to process or distribute their products.”

The Butterfly Bakery released a statement on its Facebook page addressing the shutdown, which stated the company was “voluntarily entering into a consent agreement with the FDA [which would] would best enable Butterfly to move forward and expeditiously resolve the FDA’s concerns.”
The company also highlighted that only three of 45 products had been cited by the FDA for being misleading.

“Butterfly Bakery wants to assure all of its customers that we take continuous pride in the integrity of our products while practicing good manufacturing and ensuring the safety and quality of our products,” the company said in its statement.

While mislabeled ingredients is a fairly common complaint according to FDA spokesperson Tamara Ward, finding additional fat and sugar in products specifically proclaiming they are “sugar-free” was a new experience.

“It’s a bit unique,” said Ward of the mislabeled fat and sugar content. “But we expect them to come into compliance.”