A Missouri appeals court has reversed a lower court’s dismissal of a lawsuit alleging Stonewall Kitchen, LLC misled consumers about its cupcake mix containing sodium acid pyrophosphate (SAPP), which the complaint contended precludes the company from marketing the mixes as “all natural.” Murphy v. Stonewall Kitchen, LLC, No. 104072 (Mo. Ct. App., E.D., order entered November 8, 2016). The trial court determined that because the ingredient list included SAPP, the plaintiff could not claim that Stonewall had failed to disclose its contents within the meaning of the Missouri Merchandising Practices Act (MMPA). Further, it found that the “all natural” description was inherently ambiguous with no clearly settled meaning. The appeals court disagreed, finding that the definition of “all natural” is a question of fact requiring further investigation during discovery. “Furthermore, we expressly reject the notion that the ‘ingredient list’ defense asserted by Stonewall Kitchen defeats [the plaintiff’s] claim as a…
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