Silk Cholesterol Suit to Continue, Hit with Separate Vanilla Suit
A California federal court has refused to dismiss a lawsuit alleging that Danone US Inc. creates “a misleading impression regarding the health-promoting benefits” of its Silk Coconutmilk because it markets the product with an accurate representation of the product as free of cholesterol. Marshall v. Danone US, Inc., No. 19-1332 (N.D. Cal., entered September 13, 2019). Danone argued that the cholesterol representation was made in close proximity to the nutrition panel showing that the product contained three grams of saturated fat, but the court noted that the total is one gram more than permitted under federal regulations on the use of “cholesterol-free.”
“Danone is missing the point,” the court held. It noted that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) “has expertise in, and responsibility for, determining what food labeling practices may mislead consumers” and that the agency “believes that consumers may understand ‘cholesterol-free’ to convey certain health benefits that in fact do not exist if the product contains saturated fats above a certain level. Whether the FDA is right or wrong on that point, or whether Danone may ultimately prevail on the merits for any number of reasons, there simply is no doubt that plaintiff has stated a plausible claim that the labels are misleading.” Accordingly, the court refused to dismiss the complaint.
Danone’s Silk Almondmilk was also targeted in a consumer’s putative class action, which alleged that the company misrepresents its almondmilk as containing vanilla. Trust v. Silk Operating Co., No. 19-8442 (S.D.N.Y., filed September 11, 2019). The complaint asserts that the “vanilla” in the name of Silk Almondmilk’s vanilla-flavored product is an indication of the ingredient of vanilla rather than a characterizing flavor composed of “natural flavor” alternatives such as tree bark, lignin or ethyl vanillin. The lawsuit echoes similar complaints filed against food companies, including Friendly’s and Stewart’s Fountain Classics as well as Danone’s yogurt products.
