Court Denies Stay for FDA “Natural” Guidance in Kraft Artificial Coloring Case

A California federal court has denied Kraft Food Group Inc.’s request to stay class action litigation alleging the company’s fat-free cheese product is misleadingly labeled “natural” because it contains artificial coloring, finding that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) expected guidance on the term “natural” does not affect the issues of the case. Morales v. Kraft Foods Grp. Inc., No. 14-4387 (C.D. Cal., order entered December 6, 2016). A week earlier, the same court denied Kraft’s motion for summary judgment on the grounds that triable issues existed in the case, including (i) “whether consumers are likely to believe that ‘artificial color’ is not an artificial ingredient if it is produced by a natural product”; (ii) “whether such belief is material to customers’ purchasing decisions”; and (iii) “whether all artificial colors, regardless of source, are artificial ingredients.” Details about the certification of the class appear in Issue 570 of this Update.

The court was not persuaded that FDA’s upcoming “natural” guidance would affect the outcome of the case, departing from the reasoning of several other courts in cases with similar claims. “[T]he question here is not whether Kraft has violated FDA regulations,” the court found. “Rather, in this case the question is whether the ‘natural cheese’ label is deceptive to the reasonable consumer.” Further, “[c]ompliance with FDA regulations does not ‘automatically shield’ Kraft from a claim under the relevant statutes,” the court said, noting that its order from the prior week had determined the plaintiffs had presented evidence to support the claim that a reasonable consumer is likely to be deceived by the term “natural cheese.”

Issue 625