PepsiCo is replacing the word "Natural" in a few of its products with the word "Simply."
According to the Associated Press, the beverage company, which has been under attack for misusing the word "Natural" in some of their products, is changing "Simply Natural" to "Simply" on its Frito-Lay chips.
"Natural Quaker Granola" will be replaced with "Simply Quaker Granola." Both products' ingredients remain the same. The name changes reportedly took place last year.
"We constantly update our marketing and packaging," said Candace Mueller-Medina, a spokeswoman for PepsiCo's Quaker brand.
The change comes at a time when companies are facing potently legal challenges over the misuse of the word "natural." PepsiCo has been hit with multiple lawsuits over its use of the word natural.
In 2013, a lawsuit filed caused Naked juice, named for its supposed stripped-down ingredients, to remove the "all natural" seal off of its label. The company paid $9 million to settle a lawsuit, which claimed the vitamins used for the drink are actually synthetic ingredients included in a fiber made by Archer Daniels Midland.
The Food and Drug Administration does not have set regulations for what defines "natural." Michele Simon, a public health lawyer and critic of the food industry's marketing practices, stated that there are numerous cases in which companies use of the word "natural" is often misunderstood.
FDA stated that as long as the product does not contain added color, artificial flavors or synthetic substances, it can still be considered "natural."
Other brands retreating from the word "natural" are Ben & Jerry's and Breyers ice cream, which agreed to change packaging in 2012 as the reuslt of lawsuits over its "all natural" products.
