The Nation : Beech-Nut Denies Guilt

Beech-Nut Nutrition Inc. and two of its executives pleaded not guilty in New York to charges stemming from sales of flavored sugar water as 100% apple juice for babies. The 470-count indictment charges that Beech-Nut and its president, Niels L. Hoyvald, and vice president, John F. Lavery, knowingly sold the phony juice from 1978 to 1983. Suppliers Zeev Kaplansky, former president of Universal Juice Inc., Nina Williamson, former officer of Food Complex Inc., and Danny Shaeffer, an employee of Nameco Trading, also pleaded not guilty. The defendants were released on their own recognizance. Another supplier, Raymond H. Wells, pleaded not guilty earlier.