A New York consumer has filed a putative class action against juice maker Suja Life, LLC, alleging the company deceptively labeled its juice blends as “Cold-Pressed.” Lumbra v. Suja Life, LLC, No. 22-893 (N.D.N.Y., filed August 28, 2022). The plaintiff alleges that the packaging of Suja’s “Cold-Pressed” juices led her to believe they were not processed after being extracted. She asserts in the complaint that typically, juices that are not subjected to treatment after they’re extracted are labeled as “Cold-Pressed,” while juices that are treated usually prominently disclose treatment. She alleges that Suja failed to prominently disclose to consumers that after its juices are cold-pressed, they are subjected to a treatment known as high-pressure processing. “By describing the Product as 'Cold-Pressed' without any prominent, clear disclaimers of other processing steps, consumers expect it will be fresh,” the plaintiff asserts. “However, the Product is not fresh and has more in common with…
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A Massachusetts federal court has granted a motion to dismiss a request for injunctive relief but allowed to continue other claims alleging that Gorton’s Inc. misleads consumers by marketing its tilapia products as “sustainably sourced.” Spindel v. Gorton’s Inc., No. 22-10599 (D. Mass., entered August 24, 2022). The court noted that in a hearing, Gorton’s acknowledged “that some of its tilapia comes from fish farms in China but contended that it follows industry best practices in its sourcing from China.” “To the extent plaintiffs are casting a wider net in arguing that only tilapia raised in the wild are sustainable, they will come up empty,” the court found. “However, Plaintiffs do assert a plausible (albeit hotly disputed) claim that Gorton’s tilapia are sourced, in part, from unsustainable Chinese fish farms with ‘environmentally destructive and inhumane’ practices.” Accordingly, the court denied the motion to dismiss these claims.
A Florida consumer has sued cheesemaker Lactalis American Group, Inc., alleging the company misrepresented the authenticity of its President-branded feta cheese. Gallagher v. Lactalis American Group, Inc., No. 22-00614 (W.D.N.Y., filed Aug. 14, 2022). The plaintiff alleges that Lactalis misrepresented its feta cheese as made in Europe under the President brand, when it is made in the United States. In the complaint, the plaintiff highlighted the company's feta cheese packaging, which includes language that the brand is “Europe’s Leading Cheese Expert," a gold olive branch wreath and the word “feta” “stylized in ancient-Greek font.” The plaintiff asserts that the labeling "gives consumers the impression the Product was made in Greece, or at the very least in another European country,” “Consumers are faced with increasing commercialization of products and seek brands that are genuine – feta cheese from Greece, sake from Japan, and tomatoes from Italy," the plaintiff asserts in the complaint.…
An Illinois federal court has granted Kraft Heinz Foods Co.'s motion to dismiss a lawsuit alleging the labeling noting the inclusion of mozzarella cheese and tomato sauce in Bagel Bites is misleading. Jackson v. Kraft Heinz Foods Co., No. 21-5219 (N.D. Ill., E. Div., entered August 3, 2022). "Central to all of Plaintiff s claims is the notion that the Product's label misleads consumers by representing that the Product contains ‘mozzarella cheese. REAL cheese,' and 'tomato sauce,' but omitting that it contains additives," the court found. "However, a product that says it contains mozzarella cheese and tomato sauce when the Product does, in fact, contain mozzarella cheese and tomato sauce is not misleading to the reasonable consumer simply because its label does not list its additives." The court also noted that the standard of a "reasonable consumer" can vary according to the product at issue. "[W]hile Plaintiff contends reasonable consumers do…
An Illinois federal court has granted Kellogg Sales Co.'s motion to dismiss a consumer's putative class action complaint alleging that Frosted Chocolate Fudge Pop-Tarts lacked the milkfat (milk and butter) necessary for a product to be described as fudge. Reinitz v. Kellogg Sales Co., No. 21-1239 (C.D. Ill., entered June 2, 2022). As evidence for the claim, the plaintiff provided a book by Molly Mills, who was described as "one of today's leading authorities on fudge"; Kellogg argued that Mills' book, which contains 40 recipes for fudge, included multiple recipes that do not contain milkfat. "Plaintiff fails to support that the average consumer would believe a fudge product must, of necessity, contain milkfat," the court found. Comparing a similar case dismissed when the plaintiff could not show that a reasonable consumer would be misled by the strawberry designation on the Pop-Tart label, the court dismissed the complaint but granted leave to…
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced that it will conduct quantitative consumer research on the use of "voluntary symbols that could be used in the future to convey the nutrient content claim 'healthy.'" The agency is simultaneously "developing a proposed rule that would update when manufacturers may use the 'healthy' nutrient content claim on food packages." "Updating labeling and making it more accessible helps empower consumers," the constituent update states. "In particular, claims and symbols can help consumers better understand nutrition information and identify foods that contribute to a healthy eating pattern. Manufacturers may also reformulate products to improve their nutritional value so they can use the claim."
A consumer has filed a projected class action alleging Mondelez International Inc.'s Green & Black's chocolate packaging misleads as to the product's cacao content. Lee v. Mondelez Int'l Inc., No. 22-1127 (S.D.N.Y., filed February 9, 2022). The labels indicate that the products are 60%, 70% or 85% cacao, but "the back labels uniformly reveal that the principal chocolate ingredient is not cacao but cocoa, which [] is an inferior, highly processed derivative of the cacao bean that has been stripped of the nutritional qualities that make dark chocolate appealing to its consumers." The complaint explains that the ingredient list—"organic bittersweet chocolate (organic chocolate liquor, organic cane sugar, organic cocoa butter, organic vanilla extract)—makes no "mention of cacao butter, but only of cocoa butter." Further, the front labeling also states that the product is "made from 'the finest Trinitario cacao beans,'" the plaintiff argues, which allegedly implies that the products "retain…
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has released a list of the draft and final guidance topics that the agency is prioritizing for 2022. The list includes guidance on allergens, cell-cultured foods, heavy metals in juice and labeling of plant-based alternatives to milk and animal-derived foods. According to a caveat in the constituent update, "Although the FDA's intent is to publish all draft and final guidance topics on the list, modifications in plans may be needed to support emerging issues and Administration priorities."
A plaintiff has filed a putative class action alleging that Kellogg Sales Co. misleads consumers as to the quantity of vegetables in its MorningStar "Veggie" products, including "Veggie Burgers," "Veggie Dogs," "Veggitizers" and "Veggie Chik'n." Kennard v. Kellogg Sales Co., No. 21-7211 (N.D. Cal., filed September 17, 2021). Kellogg represents its products as "Veggie," the complaint asserts, "but this representation is false or at least highly misleading because the predominant non-water ingredient in all of the Veggie Products is not vegetables—or even vegetable-based—but instead, grain or oil." The consumer also argues that the "Veggie" products violate California law "by using product names that include the term 'VEGGIE' while failing to disclose the percentage of vegetables in the products, which have a material bearing on the price and consumer acceptance of the Veggie Products." The plaintiff alleges violations of California consumer-protection statutes as well as breach of warranties and seeks class…
Shook Partner Cary Silverman has authored a report exploring the rise in class actions filed in New York, which, he explains, "is largely a result of lawsuits targeting businesses that sell food and beverages." Class Action Chaos: The Rise of Consumer Class Action Lawsuits in New York, created in partnership with the New York Civil Justice Institute, details how "the percentage of class action lawsuits targeting products that New Yorkers place in their shopping carts, grab at a grocery store, or buy at a restaurant has gone up." "Lawsuits claiming that businesses mislead consumers in how they labeled, marketed, or advertised food made up about one-third of deceptive practices class actions in 2015. Now, these 'food court' lawsuits account for about 60% of New York’s consumer class actions – exceeding deceptive practices claims against all other products and services combined. Over 100 food class actions were filed in New York…
