A California federal court has dismissed a putative class action alleging that Mott's apple juices and applesauce are not "natural" as marketed because they contain trace amounts of pesticides. Yu v. Dr Pepper Snapple Grp. Inc., No. 18-6664 (N.D. Cal, entered October 6, 2020). The complaint was previously dismissed without prejudice, and the amended version contained the "same five causes of action" but "added two generic surveys to the allegations." The court examined the additional surveys but was unconvinced that they provided enough support to allow the case to move forward. "The 2015 Consumer Reports Survey arguably undermines, rather than supports, Plaintiff’s argument about the reasonable consumer’s interpretation of the word 'natural,'" the court held. "It states, 'Consumers were asked about their perception of the natural and organic labels. The organic food label is meaningful, is backed by federal regulations, and verified by third-party inspections; the natural label, however, is…
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A New York federal court has trimmed claims in a lawsuit alleging that Arizona Beverages Co. and its parent company Hornell Brewing Co. Inc. misled consumers by labeling Arizona Fruit Snacks as "all natural" despite containing synthetic ingredients, including ascorbic acid, glucose syrup, citric acid, gelatin and dextrose. Silva v. Hornell Brewing Co. Inc., No. 20-0756 (E.D.N.Y., entered August 10, 2020). The court declined to dismiss the case on the basis that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) holds primary jurisdiction over the issue. "First, while defining the term 'all natural' does involve technical and policy considerations, this case does not require a technical definition of 'all natural,'" the court held. "Instead, this case requires a determination of whether labeling the Product as 'all natural' is misleading to a reasonable consumer. That type of legal question is within the conventional experience of the court and does not require FDA…
A lawsuit challenging the ingredients in LaCroix sparkling water has been dismissed with prejudice by the plaintiffs. Rice v. Nat'l Beverage Corp., No. 18-7151 (N.D. Ill., E. Div., entered February 18, 2020). National Beverage Corp. reportedly shared a letter with the media about the voluntary dismissal, stating that a laboratory cited in the complaint confirmed that it had not, as alleged, determined that the ingredients in LaCroix were not natural. "That laboratory has since confirmed in writing and separately under oath that its testing could not, and did not, determine whether the ingredients were 'synthetic' and made no finding as to the source of the ingredients it identified." The letter reportedly also asserts that the plaintiff was provided results from a different laboratory, "which confirmed that LaCroix's flavor ingredients are 100% natural and free of any 'synthetic' sources."
Following the August 2019 dismissal of a lawsuit brought by advocacy groups alleging similar facts, a group of consumers has filed a putative class action alleging that Sanderson Farms Inc. misleads consumers by marketing its chicken as “100% Natural.” Lentz v. Sanderson Farms Inc., No. 19-6570 (N.D. Cal., filed October 11, 2019). The complaint alleges that “Sanderson’s advertising misleads consumers in four ways,” including representations that (i) the chickens “were not given antibiotics or other pharmaceuticals,” (ii) the chickens “were raised in a natural environment,” (iii) “there is no evidence that the use of antibiotics and other pharmaceuticals in poultry contributes to the evolution of antibiotic-resistant bacteria” and (iv) the chicken products “do not contain any antibiotic or pharmaceutical residue.” A previous case brought by two advocacy groups was dismissed because of a lack of standing; the court found that the groups could not show sufficient injury because “they were…
Children's Health Defense, an organization founded and chaired by Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., has filed a lawsuit alleging that Beech-Nut Nutrition Co. misrepresents its baby-food products as "100% natural" despite containing pesticide residues. Children's Health Def. v. Beech-Nut Nutrition Co., No. 2019 CA 4475 (D.C. Super. Ct., filed July 8, 2019). The organization alleges that Beech-Nut markets its products as "100% natural," which the company website apparently defines as "simple, all-natural ingredients from places that nurture their fruits and vegetables and care about their quality. We never use artificial preservatives—nobody really needs modified starch, salt or harsh spices, especially babies. … We're not a fan of pesticides; our internal standards are significantly stricter than federal requirements." The complaint asserts that an independent laboratory tested the products and found pesticide residues in several varieties. The organization alleges a cause of action under the District of Columbia Consumer Protection Procedures Act and…
A consumer has filed a putative class action alleging that Tropicana Manufacturing Co. misrepresents its orange juice as "natural" because it contains a variation of malic acid that can be used as an artificial flavoring ingredient. Johnson v. Tropicana Mfg. Co. Inc., No. 19-1164 (S.D. Cal., filed June 20, 2019). The complaint, echoing similar actions filed by the same plaintiff's firm against other companies, alleges that the ingredient "malic acid" on the product's ingredient list is not the naturally occurring l-malic acid but rather d-l malic acid, which "is manufactured in petrochemical plants from benzene or butane—components of gasoline and lighter fluid, respectively—through a series of chemical reactions, some of which involve highly toxic chemical precursors and byproducts." The plaintiff alleges violations of California's consumer-protection laws and seeks class certification, restitution, damages, corrective advertising and attorney's fees.
A New Jersey federal court has denied class certification to a plaintiff challenging Tropicana's marketing representations of its juice as "pure" and "natural." In re Tropicana Orange Juice Mktg. & Sales Practices Litig., No. 11-7382 (D.N.J., entered June 19, 2019). The court first denied certification for a New York class because the plaintiff only purchased Tropicana in California, then it turned to the requirement of predominance. "Plaintiff has not demonstrated that a uniform misrepresentation was made to the class sufficient to satisfy predominance as to the '100% pure and natural orange juice,' '100% pure,' '100% natural,' '100% juice' 'fresh,' 'grove to glass,' 'squeezed from fresh oranges,' 'straight-from-the-orange,' and Orange/Straw labels," the court found. "[T]he Court would be required to perform an individualized inquiry into each product purchased to determine what combinations of labels were visible before determining whether that combination is deceiving to a reasonable consumer. These variations are the…
A New York federal court has dismissed a putative class action alleging that celebrity chef Rachael Ray's brand of dog food, Rachael Ray Nutrish, is misleadingly marketed as "natural" because it contains traces of pesticides. Parks v. Ainsworth Pet Nutrition, LLC, No. 18-6936 (S.D.N.Y., entered April 18, 2019). The court found that the plaintiff could not show that trace amounts of a pesticide would make the marketing of a "natural" product misleading. The plaintiff "asserts that the Products contain trace amounts of glyphosate, but not that the Products are composed of unnatural ingredients," the court found. "Moreover, Plaintiff does not set forth in his complaint the amount of glyphosate in the Products or whether that amount is harmful or innocuous. He argues that '[if] glyphosate is in the Products at any level . . . then the Products cannot be called 'Natural.'' [] But a reasonable consumer would not be…
Consolidated litigation to determine whether Kind LLC misleads consumers by marketing its products as "all natural" and made without genetically modified organisms (GMOs) will continue after a two-year delay. In re Kind LLC "Healthy and All Natural" Litig., No. 15-2645 (S.D.N.Y., entered February 11, 2019). The court previously stayed the litigation in anticipation of U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) guidance documents on when the uses of "natural" and "non-GMO" are appropriate on food labeling. "Given that there is no reason to continue the stay on the 'non-GMO' claims and that neither party wishes to litigate the claims in piecemeal fashion, it makes sense to begin discovery," the court held. "Moreover, this Court explained that the case for lifting the 'all natural' stay would be 'substantially stronger' if the FDA failed to provide guidance by August 2018. Six months later, guidance is still awaited. It is time for this multi-district…
Two consumers have alleged that National Beverage Corporation misleads buyers of LaCroix sparkling water because it advertises the products as “all natural” and “100% natural” while they contain flavors composed of “between 36% and 98% synthetic ingredients.” Graham v. Nat’l Beverage Corp., No. 19-0873 (S.D.N.Y., filed January 29, 2019). The complaint cites the Center for Applied Isotope Studies at the University of Georgia, which uses “compound specific stable isotope analysis [] and gas chromatography isotope ratio mass spectrometry to generate multi-component, multi-element data for the enhanced characterization of organic chemical processes and source validation.” The plaintiffs seek class certification, injunctions, damages and attorney’s fees for alleged violations of New York consumer-protection law, unjust enrichment and breach of warranties.
