Malic Acid Suit Filed Against True Lemon

Grand Brands Inc. allegedly markets its True Lemon powdered drink mixes as “naturally flavored” despite containing malic acid, a plaintiff alleges. Tedesco v. Grand Brands Inc., No. 20-1928 (S.D. Cal., filed September 28, 2020). The complaint asserts that Grand Brands fails to identify the type of malic acid included in its products and alleges that “[e]ven if reasonable consumers were to investigate the Defendant’s claims on the Products’ front labels by scrutinizing the ingredient statements on the back, consumers would still be unable to verify whether the Products contained artificial flavoring.” The plaintiff further asserts that “analytical testing” of the products “confirmed that Defendant adds the artificial flavoring dl-malic acid to each of the Products.” The eight claimed causes of action include alleged violations of California consumer-protection statutes as well as intentional and negligent misrepresentation.