People who bought Sweet Baby Ray’s No Sugar Added barbecue sauces, dipping sauces or marinade may be covered by a proposed class action alleging Ken’s Foods labels them as having no added sugar while sweetening them with allulose, which the complaint says is an added sugar under federal rules. No class has been certified and there is nothing to file yet.
Allegations Only · No Settlement Yet
This article describes a class action complaint. The statements below are unproven allegations. Ken’s Foods, LLC has not been found liable, there is no certified class, and nothing to claim at this time. This page is informational and is not legal advice.
What Is This About?
Ken’s Foods, LLC, the Massachusetts company that makes Sweet Baby Ray’s, was sued on September 8, 2026 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts over its Sweet Baby Ray’s No Sugar Added sauces. The case is Trapasso v. Ken’s Foods, LLC, No. 1:26-cv-14120.The complaint says every flavor in the line carries the same “No Sugar Added” claim on the front label while allulose is added during manufacturing. It argues allulose is a sugar under federal labeling rules, so the claim is false. It is one of a growing number of recent suits that make the same argument about allulose. The case was just filed; Ken’s Foods has not been found liable and the court has not ruled.
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Why the Complaint Says “No Sugar Added” Is Wrong
The argument runs through two federal regulations. One defines “sugars” as all free monosaccharides and disaccharides. The complaint says allulose, a rare sugar chemically close to fructose, is a monosaccharide and so falls inside that definition. The other sets the conditions for a “no sugar added” claim, and the first condition is that no sugar, as so defined, is added during processing.Because Ken’s Foods adds allulose as its own ingredient, the complaint says the sauces cannot meet that condition. It cites the Seventh Circuit’s July 2026 decision in Franco v. Chobani, LLC, which held that allulose is a sugar under the federal definition. That ruling binds federal courts in Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin; this case is in Massachusetts, where it is persuasive but not binding.
The complaint also argues that the ingredient list does not cure the front label, both because shoppers should not have to check the fine print and because most people do not know allulose is a sugar.
The Other Side of the Argument
FDA guidance issued in 2020 lets manufacturers leave allulose out of the Total Sugars and Added Sugars lines on the Nutrition Facts panel, on the reasoning that it is not metabolized the way table sugar is, has far fewer calories and causes little rise in blood sugar. Companies in other allulose cases have argued that the guidance permits their labels, that federal law preempts state-law claims, and that a shopper who sees 0 grams of sugar on the panel is not misled. Ken’s Foods has not yet filed its response in this case, so its own position is not known.What the Lawsuit Claims and Seeks
There are three counts: violations of New York General Business Law sections 349 and 350, which bar deceptive practices and false advertising, on behalf of the New York subclass; and common-law fraud on behalf of the nationwide class and the subclass. The theory is a price premium: buyers would not have bought the sauces, or would have paid less, without the no-sugar-added claim. The complaint says sugar-reduction claims typically carry a 15% to 30% premium. It seeks actual, compensatory, statutory, nominal and punitive damages, restitution, interest, attorneys’ fees and a declaration that the label violates the law.Who Would Be Covered?
The nationwide class is everyone in the United States who bought the No Sugar Added sauces for personal or household use. The New York subclass is everyone who bought them in New York in the last three years. Ken’s Foods and its affiliates, and the judge and court staff, are excluded. The complaint calls both definitions placeholders that may change, including into multi-state subclasses.One of Many Allulose Lawsuits
Sweet Baby Ray’s joins a run of suits against brands that pair allulose with “zero sugar” or “no added sugar” labels, including Kellogg’s Special K, Magic Spoon, BodyArmor, Monin, Hero Bread, Humm Kombucha and two Trader Joe’s products. OCA tracks every one, with court, case number and status, on its allulose “zero sugar” class action tracker.What Happens Next
Ken’s Foods’ deadline to respond to the complaint has been extended. In other allulose cases, defendants have answered with motions to dismiss arguing preemption, so a ruling on that question is the next real milestone. There is nothing to file and no deadline for consumers. OCA will update this page if the case is dismissed, certified or settled.Questions
Which Sweet Baby Ray’s products are in the lawsuit?
Every flavor of Sweet Baby Ray’s No Sugar Added barbecue sauce, dipping sauce and marinade, including Original, Sweet and Smoky, Sweet and Spicy, Honey Mustard and Teriyaki. Regular Sweet Baby Ray’s sauces, which do not carry a no-sugar-added claim, are not part of the case.
If allulose is a sugar, why does the label say no sugar added?
FDA guidance issued in 2020 lets manufacturers leave allulose out of the sugar lines on the Nutrition Facts panel. The complaint argues the guidance does not change the regulation that defines a sugar, and that a food with allulose added during manufacturing cannot be labeled no sugar added. Ken’s Foods has not yet responded in court, and no judge has ruled on that argument in this case.
Who would be covered by the Sweet Baby Ray’s lawsuit?
The complaint proposes a nationwide class of people who bought the No Sugar Added sauces for personal or household use, plus a New York subclass covering the last three years. Neither class has been certified.
Can I get money from the Sweet Baby Ray’s lawsuit now?
No. The case was filed on September 8, 2026 and is at the complaint stage. There is no settlement, no claim form and no deadline. Money would only be available if the case settles or the plaintiff wins at trial.
Sources
• Class action complaint, Trapasso v. Ken’s Foods, LLC, No. 1:26-cv-14120 (D. Mass., filed September 8, 2026), the source of every allegation above.• The case docket on CourtListener.
