Sugar Producers Must Face Class Action Over Sugarcane Smoke

Florida Crystals Corp., Osceola Farms Co., and other large sugar producers must face a class action seeking damages, medical monitoring, and injunctive relief for alleged harms caused by their pre-harvest burning of sugarcane leaves, a Florida federal court ruled.

The plaintiffs submitted air modeling that shows burns have affected Belle Glade, South Bay, and other towns in and around an area deemed the “hazard zone,” according to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

Plaintiffs also allege sampling found sugar cane residue in three homes, and that the pollutants caused property damage and other harms necessary to …